Conference reports of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I/ O / Ml

SEVENTY-THIRD /

Semnannual

Conference

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LAT-
TER-DAY SAINTS,

Held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, October 4th, 5th and 6th,
1902, with a full report of the discourses.

ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE GENERAL CONFER?
ENCE OF THE DESERET SUNDAY
SCHOOL UNION.

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General Conference

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.

o

■3*

FIRST DAY.

The Seventy-third Semi-annual Con-
ference of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints convened in the
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a. m.,
on Saturday, Oct. 4, 1902, President Jo-
seph F. Smith presiding.

There were present of the General Au-
thorities: Of the First Presidency, Jo-
seph F. Smith, John R. Winder and An-
thon H. Lund. Of the Council of the
Twelve Apostles there were: John Hen-
ry Smith, George Teasdale, Marriner
W. Merrill, Matthias F. Cowley, Abra-
ham O. Woodruff, Rudger Clawson.
Reed Smoot and Hyrum M. Smith; Pre-
siding Patriarch of the Church, John
Smith; first seven presidents of Seven-
ties, Seymour B. Young, Brigham H.
Roberts, George Reynolds, Jonathan G.
Kimball, Rulon S. Wells and Joseph W.
McMurrin; of the presiding Bishopric,
William B. Preston, Robert T. Burton
and Orrin P. Miller. There were like-
wise a large number of presidents of
Stakes, their counselors ->nd other lead-
ing men of the Priesthood.

The choir and congregation sang the
hymn, which begins:

Our God, we raise to Thee,
Thanks for Thy blessings free,
We here enjoy.

Prayer was offered by Elder Collins
R. Hakes.

Singing by the choir and congrega-
tion:

Redeemer of Israel,

Our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call;
Our shadow by day,

And our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliverer, our all.

» rs

r+ on

OPENING ADDRESS.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

Greeting— Causes for thanksgiving— God's bless-
ings increase through faithfulness — More
Temples to be built — Great responsibility
resting upon the Saints.

My beloved brethren and sisters, I
greet you heartily this morning in your
attendance at this the 73rd Semi-annual
Conference of the Church. I am pleased
to see such a good representation here
this morning. Especially am I pleased
tn see so many of the presiding au-
thorities of the Church — the Apostles
and the presidents of stakes, and also
many of the presidents of the various
missions of the Church. It is indeed
gratifying to see these our brethren
assembled here, on whom rests so greit
a responsibility, they having been en-
trusted with the proclamation of the
Gospel to the nations of the earth and
with the care of the flock of Christ in
the various Stakes of Zion.

During this conference we desire, as
far as the time will permit, to give an
opportunity to as many as possible of
the Elders who are presiding abroad,
and of the presidents of the stakes o*

2

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

Zicn, to express themselves; and in or-
der that we may reach as many as pos-
sible, we desire that the brethren who
speak shall have that portion of the
Sp'rit of God that will enable them to
speak clearly, pointedly and briefly up -
on those subjects that may come to
their minds.

We have here the Apostles, the Pres-
idents of the Seventies, and the Presid-
ing Bishopric, who are practically tra v-
eling' Elders in the Church, visiting the
stakes of Zion and the various mission
fields, from time to time, and they are
especially posted in relation to the con-
dition of the work of the Lord in the
various fields that they have visited
and will be able to speak to us in rela-
tion to those subjects and matte :-s
that will be most interesting and neces-
sary for the general enlightenment of
those who have come to the conference,
and to the edification of the whole peo-
ple.

We desire to say to the people th-it
we feel very grateful to the Lord for
His continued mercy unto us, and, noL-
w ithstanding the drouth of the past
season, which has been almost unpre ■
cedented in many parts of the country,
we feel that the Saints have been great-
iv blessed, and that there will be r.o
necessity for any great lack or want
among the people in consequence of the
drouth, but we feel that all will be
blessed with sufficient for their needs.
In many parts of the country we have
been exceedingly blessed. There has
been an abundance of water, and in
some sections our people have been
visited by unprecedented rains, result-
ing in great floods, which have done
nr. ore or less damage to the people; bvt
this, of course, is not to a very great
extent.

We feel in our hearts that Zion is
prospering, and that all is well with
the people of God at large; still, we re-
alize that there is great room for us
to improve, and that the opportunities
for advancement are very extensive.
We hope that all the Latter-day Saints
will continue their diligence and faith-
fulness before the Lord in the work in
which they are engaged, that Zion may
continue to flourish in the tops of the
mountains, and that the purposes of

God Almighty concerning His peop^
and His work in the latter days may be
consummated and fully realized. We
fe<*l that the Lord will bless His peo-
ple, and the earth, for their sake, in
the future more abundantly than in the
past. In proportion as we renew and
redouble our diligence and faithfulness
betore the Lord in keeping His com-
mandments and walking in all right-
tcusness and acceptableness before
Him, so will His blessings x>e increas-
ed upon the people, and upon all their
substance, and upon the earth which
they inhabit.

We congratulate you, brethren arid
sifters, on your appearance here this
morning, and we pray God to pour out
upon you and upon all of us His Ho'y
Spirit during this Conference, that we
may have a time of rejoicing, and that
we may be able to act intelligently
and wisely on all matters of business
that may be presented before us; that
we may have the spirit of union, love
and devotion to the cause of Zion abid-
ing in our hearts; that we may have no
feelings of dissension, but that we may
be one, that we may be indeed the peo-
ple of God.

It is not my purpose to prolong my
remarks this morning, but I desired to
express my gratitude to my Father
in heaven for all His mercies and bless-
ings unto us.

We will say to the people that we
have no reason to complain of the dili-
gence of the Saints, so far as we are
able to judge, in keeping the law of
tithing. We believe that the Latter-
day Saints are observing that law as
faithfully as they have ever done, and
we beseech of you that you will con-
tinue to do this until our hands shall
be freed from all obligations, and until
we shall have means in the storehouse
of the Lord with which to accomplish
greater works, which may be neces-
sary to be done. We feel there is much
that can be done and much that ought
to be done in the interests of Zion and
for the benefit of the people of God.

We feel that an effort should be
made to preserve the Temples of God,
those houses that have been erected for
the purpose of administering the ordi-
nances of the Gospel therein for the

ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.

3

livmg and the dead. We desire that
these building's shall be preserved and
kept in repair and in a wholesome con-
dition, so that the Spirit of the Lord
may dwell in them, and that those who
minister therein, may feel the presence
and influence of His Spirit. We also
feel that when the time shall come and
our hands shall be free from the ob-
ligations that now rest upon us, other
pl'tces should be prepared for the con-
vergence of the Latter-day Saints in
more distant stakes, in order that those
who are living at great distances from
the center may have the privilege of
receiving the ordinances of the Gosp«l
without being put to the great expense
and loss of time that is necessary now
in journeying from 500 to 1,000 miles in
order to reach the houses of God. We
hope to see the day when we shall have
temples built in the various parts of
the land where they are needed for the
convenience of the people: for we re-
alize that one of the greatest responsi-
bilities that rest upon the people of God
today is that their hearts shall be turn-
el unto their fathers, and that they
shall do the work that is necessary to
be done for them in order that they
may be joined together fitly in the bond
of the New and Everlasting covenant
from generation to generation. For the
Lcrd has said, through the Prophet
Joseph, that this is one of the greatest
responsibilities devolving upon us in
this latter day.

God help us to do this work and help
up. to be faithful, one and all, that we
may have means with which to accom-
plish it, is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON,
(President of the California Mission.)

My very beloved brothers and sisters,
when I heard the voice of the Prophet
of God say that all is well in Zion, the
words of one of the Prophets of old
came to my mind:

"How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringreth good
tidings, that publisheth peace; that
bringeth good tidings of good, that pub-
lisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth!"

In the California Mission we are not
always blessed by the presence of those
who bring good tidings of good; we
often hear the people of Zion villified
and spoken of evilly. It fills my heart
with joy to know that those whose in-
terests are our interests, and who have
done so much for our common weal in
fostering our industries, can say that
all is well, and they have no com-
plaints in regard to the law of tith-
ing and other matters relating to the
Saints of God.

In our mission we have the same
spirit that characterizes the saints of
God in all the world. The hearts of the
Saints there turn to you in these val-
leys, and deep in their souls they have
a desire to come to the Temple of the
Lord and receive their blessings, and
some few have been so privileged. They
feel a pride in all your successes. When
they hear of any great thing you do or
any good thing that is said of you,
they rejoice, and feel that they are
entitled to do so, because they are of
you, though not with you. When the
Tabernacle choir visited us it feasted
our souls. We sensed again that the
prophecy was being fulfilled wherein
it was said that in Zion there should
be the voice of thanksgiving and mel-
ody. When we lifted up our voices to-
gether this morning and sang in unison,
it brought to my mind this saying of
old:

"Thy watchmen shall lift up the
voice; with the voice together shall
they sing; for they shall see eye to
eye, when the Lord shall bring again
Zion."

The Saints of the California Mission
have been valiant and earnest in the
payment of their tithes. They feel
that they are adding to the glory of
Zion and to the wealth of their own
souls by the practice of self-abnegation
and self-sacrifice. Though we number
but about six hundred souls, and quite
a percentage of them, I am sorry to
say, are not the most faithful, yet to
date we have paid something over
$3,000 in tithes, besides liberal offer-
ings. The Elders are valiant, earnest,
and God-fearing; many of them are
boys, several being under twenty years
of age. Among them are some most
promising speakers, humble, childlike.

4

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

feeling their dependence upon the Lord,
and knowing that it is not sufficient to
be able to quote scripture to substan-
tiate our belief, but that they must
live in accordance with the Spirit of the
Lord to gain favor with the honorable
of the world. I often tell them that it
it not enough to be able to quote scrip-
ture; for many of the people of our
cosmopolitan state know but little of
the scriptures, and many of those who
have a knowledge of them do not be-
lieve them, and they ask for more ma-
terial results. "Show me," they say,
"wherein the Gospel which you teach
has benefited and helped you to do bet-
ter. What has it done for your com-
monwealth? Show me the logic or the
philosophy of the Gospel which you
preach." How soul-satisfying it is to
be enabled to say that it has made a
peace-loving people, a patriotic people,
a people that live in their own homes to
a very great extent, a people that have
not mortgaged themselves, a people
that are tolerant, a people that have
been gathered out from almost all lands
and climes, with one purpose, one am-
bition, and have dropped their national
antipathies and animosities, and in
their children have become one. When
I heard of the reply that Ambassador
White had made to Count Tolstoi, that
when the youth of Zion grew up and
began to assert their individuality,
then the fabric which had been woven
and the building which had been con-
structed by Mormonism would fall to
pieces, I thought how little he knows of
us. I can remember when our fathers,
who had been gathered from many
lands, had differences with each other.
Having been brought up under different
environments and training, they had
different methods of gaining a liveli-
hood and varied ideas as to what
should be accomplished, and sometimes
they clashed one with another. But
now we find that their sons have
dropped the differences of nationality,
and enjoying the same testimony that
their fathers have borne in relation to
the truth of the Gospel they are one in
intent and purpose, and I trust are
more fixed, if possible, upon the one
object of upbuilding the kingdom of
God than were their fathers and mo-

thers. This to me is a testimony of the
Gospel of Christ.

Our Elders meet with the same ex-
perience that they do in other lands.
During the last five months we have
met with a great deal of opposition, es-
pecially on the streets. Some few men
have apparently dedicated themselves
to the purpose of driving us out of the
state, exposing our fraud, as they term
it, and the life of hypocrisy which they
accuse us of leading. They have met us
on every street corner and in every way
imaginable. When they have learned
that we had some friends, they have
sent people to them to embitter their
minds against us; and in one city they
have gone so far as to print a little
tract about us, signed by the ladies of
three leading religious organizations.
This tract has been distributed broad-
cast. They did not pass by the house
of the Elders even, but left us a copj r .
We feel that this is in part due to the
visit of the choir and to the attention
it attracted toward us in that state,
and to our renewed efforts to be heard
and seen. I have found it necessary to
call upon the mayor and the chief of
police of some of the cities, and express
to them the wish that they would see
that we, as American citizens, should
not be villified beyond endurance; and I
am glad to state that they have ac-
corded me a most kindly hearing and
given me the protection asked for, so
much so that some of the most per-
nicious speakers have been told that
they could no longer speak upon the
streets. By the way, one of them has
since been welcomed into the pulpit of
one of the leading churches and Is now
preaching there.

We have not had many baptisms so
far this year. It has not been a season
of harvesting. But our hearts have
been filled with joy because of the
thousands of strangers who have heard
our testimonies. In that land of golden
sunshine there are thousands of people
from the east, who come there for the
sake of - the climate. Many of them
come to hear us, perhaps in many in-
stances where they would have nothing
to do with us at their homes, because
of the same spirit that Nicodemus man-
ifested when he came to the Savior by

ELDER EPHRAIM H. NYE.

5

night. We have visited the homes of
3,000 strangers, and re-visited over
4,000, as well as holding the Saints to-
gether. We have distributed something
like 38,000 tracts, besides loaning a num-
ber of books. "We do not have the suc-
cess in selling our literature that some
of the brethren report in other parts
of the United States. The people do
not seem to care to buy from us, or
else we are not very good canvassers
along that line. But we have given
away a goodly number, and are trying
to place the Book of Mormon, in par-
ticular, in a way that the people will
take hold of it, because of the price that
the book is now held at and the gra-
cious donations given to us by the
Presidency of the Church.

I do not feel that it would be proper,
my brethren and sisters, for me to take
more of your time; for you have come
to hear the words of the prophets of
the living God; but my testimony is
that God lives, that His work is ad-
vancing, that we are beginning to be
known as His people, and that the peo-
ple of the world sense the fact that
there is something in the very genius
of the Gospel we teach which has more
to do with this life than any of their
plans or schemes. They see, too, that
it is beneficial, and they would rather
have something that is practical, and
that does not deal alone with the dead
past. Many friends have been raised up
unto us who have said that they knew
we had more to offer than any other
religious denomination, but that they
cared nothing for any church. We have
been fortunate in becoming acquainted
with some of the leading citizens in the
state, and among the medical frater-
nity we have friends who have cared
for the Elders and do care for them
without price, and who have told me
to send the Elders to them if they ever
needed any consultation. I think some-
times, because of the reputed good cli-
mate of California, that several Elders
have been sent to me that were not the
soundest in health. This season 1 have
had six or eight who have had to be
cared for nearly the whole season.

May God bless and prosper you in
your labors, increase your love for the
Gospel, help you to subjugate your pas-

sions, wean yourselves of improper de-
sires, correct your judgment, peace at-
tend you in your homes and joy await
you at your gates, is my prayer in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER EPHRAIM H. NYE.

(President of the Southern States
mission.).

My Brethren and sisters, it is a joy,
greater and grander than I have words
to express, to have the privilege of
coming up to Zion occasionally.
President Robinson, who has addressed
you, succeeded me in the care of the
California mission. I took great pleas-
ure in laboring in that mission, and in
turning it over to him when I was re-
leased. It fell to my lot to be sent to
the Eastern states, and after laboring
there for a season, to be sent into the
Southern states, where I was met by
President Ben E. Rich, and given a
royal welcome into that region, and
relieved him of a part of his responsi-
bilities.

I am not prepared to say very much
about the Southern States mission, as I
have hardly got seated in the saddle
yet, and have not had a fair opportun-
ity to know much about it. I have
traveled through the mission, and have
visited the Elders in their conferences
and labored somewhat with them; but
it is only about three months since I
went in there. I find a great differ-
ence between laboring among the peo-
ple of California and the people of the
"Sunny South;" but I labor there with
the greatest possible pleasure and with
a desire to bring souls to a knowledge
of the truth and into the fold of Christ,
and help to lift some of them, at least,
upon a higher plane, that they may
come up to the standard required of
Latter-day Saints. I take joy in min-
istering among that people, and I hope
to see the results of my labors as the
years roll on.

What is now known as the Southern
States mission embraces the states of
Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida,
North Carolina and South Carolina;
and we have about 100 Elders in the
field. We would like to have twice
that number; we could use them very

6

GENERAL. CONFERENCE.

well. We hope we may be permitted
to have many more than we now have.
The Elders are a brave and noble set.
You fathers who have sons there, be
proud of them. You wives who have
husbands there, be proud of them.
They are serving' God to the very ut-
most of their ability, and they are pass-
ing through scenes and trials that you
have no idea of. Let your prayers as-
cend unto the Almighty in their be-
half; for they are faithful and valiant
in the discharge of their duties. I do
not expect to do any better there than
my predecessor. Brother Rich » has
performed a noble work. If that can
be said of me when I am released
from that mission, as it can justly be
said of him today, I shall be satisfied.

I feel like taking the admonition of
the President and not occupy too much
time. I rejoice in the knowledge of t v e
truth, and in the opportunity of com-
ing up here and worshiping once or
twice a year, beholding the faces and
hearing the voices of the Prophet and
his associates, that I may learn more
perfectly the ways of God and be bet-
ter fitted and prepared to perform the
labors and duties that rest upon me,
and go back to my labors strengthened,
filled with integrity and faith to go
forth and prosecute the ministry de-
volving upon me. That the blessings
of the Almighty may rest abundantly
upon the Latter-day Saints, that you
may grow and increase in the knowl-
edge of the truth, and rise higher and
higher in the standard of perfection
until you shall reach that position that
the Almighty requires the Latter-day
Saints to come up to, is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER BEN E. RICH.

(President of the Middle States Mis-
sion.)

My brothers and sisters, it has been
promised by the Lord that in the last
days He would establish a kingdom
upon the earth, and the promise was
also given that it would never more be
thrown down or given to another peo-
ple, but that it would be like unto a
little stone cut out of the mountains

without hands, which should roll forth
and eventually fill the whole earth with
righteousness. It was promised by our
Master while He was dwelling in mor-
tality that one of the signs of His
second coming would be the preaching
of that Gospel planted upon the earth
by Him, built upon the foundation of
apostles and prophets and revelation
from God, preached without purse or
scrip, the fundamental principles of
which would be faith in Him, repent-
ance of sin, baptism for the remission
of sin, and the gift of the Holy Ghost
by the laying on of hands.

We are living in an age, whether
the world believe it or not, when these
promises are being fulfilled; when the
God of heaven has established a
kingdom upon the earth, and notwith-
standing the fact that the powers of
the earth have been arrayed against it
from its organization up to the present
time, it has been rolling forth, it has
been growing and multiplying in
strength and influence. Its destiny is
to fill this earth with the righteous-
ness of our God, and it is being
preached in fulfillment of the Master's
word, as a witness unto all the na-
tions of the earth, before the end of
Wckedness shall come.

We have been blessed to live in this
dispensation, and to be made ac-
quainted with the principles of the Gos-
pel; and God has given to us through
the whisperings of His Spirit a tes-
timony of the truthfulness of the same.
It has been my privilege to be in the
world for some little time, directing
the missionary work in some of the
states and aiding to warn the people of
the world to flee from the wrath to
come. We do not anticipate convert-
ing the world. Our mission is to gath-
er in the honest in heart from among
the nations of the earth, to warn all
mankind, and to preach the Gospel as a
witness, in fulfillment of the Master's
word.

In the missionary field we meet many
things that you dr not meet at home.
Many things happen that you pay no
attention to, and yet they are mag-
nified by the people of the world; and
\.n?ess the Almighty continued to
magnify us and our ability before the

ELDER BEN E RICH.

7

people of the world and softened the
hearts of the people towards us, and
led us to the doors of those who are
searching after the truth, we wou.d
have a very hard time indeed. The
missionaries are entitled to the faith
and prayers of all Saints. The sun
should never go down without the
Latter-day Saints being- able to say,
This day I have prayed for those who
are laboring- in the nations of the earth
to spread the principles of ■', eternal
truth. Everything that happens is con-
strued by the world in such a way as
to bring the work of God into ill repute
before the people. Inasmuch as I am
laboring in the world where we have
to meet these things, I may be justi-
fied in alluding to the fact that this
awful crime which was committed re-
cently in New York City (you all know
what I refer to) has been magnified in
all the great newspapers of the country
in an effort to bring the horrible deed
home to the "Mormon" Church. In
flaming headlines they state that the
doctrines of the "Mormon" Church are
responsible for that crime and the con-
dition of that unfortunate creature who
now rests in a prison cell! I have won-
dered many times if the non-Mormons
v/ho live here, who are reaching out
after the patronage of the Latter-day
Saints, and who know us as we are,
would not have the manhood, the inde-
pendence, the Americanism burning in
their veins to raise their voice in a
protest against the awful things
charged against these good men who
stand at the head of this religious or-
ganization. The Latter-day Saints do
not have to rely upon any man for a
testimony of the truth of the Gospel.
They have received it, accord-
ing to promise, from heaven.
The whispering of the still small voice
of God has told them that Joseph Smith
was a Prophet; that his successors in
office at the head of the Church have
been and are Prophets, Seers and Rev-
elators; that these brethren here are
Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ,' and
that the Gospel is true. They have
been taught to let their light so shine
that it will not be hid. But those who
are not of our faith, and who have lived
for years in our midst, know the many

falsehoods that have been circulated
about us. They know that meji who
have resided here, and who have been
treated in a kindly way, ha*ve gone east
and filled the minds of the people with
the most damnable lies about us. And
I have waited for many years to see if
there would not be a spirit of fairness
bubble up in the hearts of the non-
"Mormons" of Utah, and a protest sent
out by them against the many lies cir-
culated concerning this people.

They say that the "Mormons" believe
in blood atonement. "We do believe in
blood atonement; and so does all the
Christian world believe in blood atone-
ment. We believe in the atoning blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it will
cleanse mankind from all sin, upon
condition of obedience to the laws of
the Gospel. There is not a Christian
nation on earth who does not believe
or pretend to believe in blood atone-
ment just as the Latter-day Saints be-
lieve in it. Oh, but the "Mormons"
believe in another kind of blood atone-
ment! it is said. Well, we do, in the
same way that this nation believes in it,
and in no other way — in the way that
God revealed it to the ancients, that
if man spilt man's blood, by man should
his blood be spilt. There is not a state
in this glorious Union of ours that does
not believe in that kind of blood atone-
ment. So far as putting a murderer to
death is concerned, we believe that if
the right punishment were inflicted up-
on the individual it would not be by
strangling him to death or by placing
him in an electric chair, but it would be
an execution whereby his blood would
be shed. Thank God, In this state there
were enough in the Constitutional Con-
vention who believed in that principle
to wisely place in that constitution a
clause which provided that in dealing
out the death penalty the murderer
should have a choice between bein&
shot and being hung; and if there were
a particle of belief in the law of God in
the heart of the convicted murderer the
law would give him the chance to
choose a death whereby his blood could
be spilt by man legally, seeing that he
had spilt the blood of his fellow man.
But this being the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus, we believe in the doctrines laid

8

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

down by Him, and therefore we believe
in rendering- unto Csesar that which be-
longs to CEesar, and unto God that
which belongs to Him.

Last Tuesday evening's Deseret News
contained an article that had been pub-
lished in 1889. It was signed by the
First Presidency of the Church, by the
Twelve Apostles, and also by Daniel
H. Wells and John W. Young, who
were then acting as counselors to the
Apostles. You will pardon me if I read
that article. It is a declaration made
by the leaders of the Church upon the
subject I am speaking of.

"That this Church views the shedding
of human blood with the utmost abhor-
rence. That we regard the killing of a
human being, except in conformity with
the civil law, as a capital crime which
should be punished by shedding the
blood of the criminal after a public trial
before a legally constituted court of the
land.

"Notwithstanding all the stories told
about the killing of apostates, no case
of this kind has ever occurred, and of
course has never been established
against the. Church we represent. Hun-
dreds cf seceders from the Church have
continuously resided and now live in
this territory, many of whom have
amassed considerable wealth, though
bitterly opposed to the Mormon faith
and people. Even those who made it
their business to fabricate the vilest
falsehoods, and to render them plausi-
ble by culling isolated passages from old
sermons without the explanatory con-
text, and have suffered no opportunity
to escape them of villifying and black-
ening the characters of the peop.e, have
remained among those whom they have
thus persistently calumniated until the
present day, without receiving- the
slightest personal injury.

"We denounce as entirely untrue the
allegation which has been made, that
our Church favors or believes in the
killing of persons who leave the Chuich
or apostatize from its doctrines. We
would view a punishment of this char-
acter for such an act with the utmost
horror; it is abhorrent to us and is in
direct opposition to the fundamental
principles of our creed.

"The revelations of God to this
Church make death the penalty of cay.,
tal crime, and require that offenders
against life and property shall be de-
livered up and tried by the laws of the
land.

"We declare that no Bishop's or other
court in this Church claims or exercies
civil or judicial functions, or the right
to supersede, annul or modify a judg-
ment of any civil court. Such courts,

while established to regulate Christian
conduct, are purely ecclesiastical, and
their punitive powers go no further
than the suspension or excommunica-
tion of members from Church fellow-
ship."

This same thing has been proclaimed
many times by the authorities of the
Church since its organization; but not-
withstanding this, an opportunity is
never let pass by the people of the
world, and especially the leaders of
Christian churches, to try and bring
this old charge up and frighten the
people from hearing the Elders when
they go forth to preach the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. Not over two weeks ago
I was asked by a man who was sup-
posed to be intelligent, a minister of
one of the churches, "Is it not true, if
anyone joins your Church and then
leaves it, that the orders of the leaders
of the Church are that you must kill
that man and shed his blood?" I asked
him where he got that idea; and he
replied, "from publications and writ-
ings of ministers and others who have
been in your midst." Oh! you men
who do not believe in the "Mormon"
Church, and who have lived here for
years unmolested, it is your duty to
fling these lies back into the teeth of
the world. It is your duty to say to
the people of the world that men who
have gone from here and lied are not
worthy of consideration. One minister
in the east, who used to live in Brigham
City, is telling stories about how not
over six years ago women would walk
from Salt Lake City on the railroad
track to Brigham City, seeking pro-
tection from him to keep their hus-
bands from shedding their blood, under
the doctrine of blood atonement. Well,
my non-"Mormon" friends of Salt Lake
City, that is placing your protective
powers at a minimum, is it not? Shame
on you, to make a woman walk from
Salt Lake City to Brigham City— that
stronghold of anti-"Mormonism" (?) —
to ask "for protection! Yet that man
pretends to be a minister of the Gos-
pel. Perhaps in his lifetime he has op-
ened the Bible; but he has forgotten
that he read there the words of God
which say, "Thou shalt not lie." "Thou
shalt not bear false witness against

ELDER BEN E RICH.

9

thy neighbor." "Why. right in Salt Lake
City, a few years ago, one of these min-
isters murdered two girls, cut their bod-
ies up and burned them in the church
furnace. He took their effects, and
they were found in a pawnshop in
Butte. Have the "Mormon' 'people ever
charged that that was due to the
teachings of the doctrine of that
church? Have we ever borne false wit-
ness against them in this respect?
Has the world ever laid that horrible
crime to the church •with which that
minister was connected? How different
it would have been if that had been
one of these "Mormon" presidents of
stakes, or a "Mormon" Bishop! What
headlines would have been printed in
the papers, giving an account of the
affair; and how it would have been
published to the world that the doc-
trines of the "Mormon" Church were
responsible for the murder of these two
girls! But it was one of these good
Christian churches here; and if that
man had followed the doctrines of the
church he pretended to preside over
he never would have committed that
murder. The "Mormon" people know
that, and are willing to bear witness to
it. "Why do not some members of these
other churches say that if this young
man in New York had been following
the doctrines of the "Mormon" Church,
he probably would have been in New
York standing upon the street corners
bearing testimony that God lives and
that Jesus is the Christ, instead of be-
ing locked up in a prison cell. A few
yearg ago, in San Francisco,
you remember, two girls were
murdered in a church there, theii
nude bodies being found in the tower
of the church; and for quite a whiie
the minister of that church was ac-
cused in the public press of being im-
plicated in the awful crime. But there
was no attempt made in the press
throughout the United States to show
that the teachings of that church were
responsible. They declared that it was
the depraved condition of the criminal,
and that all churches had good and
"bad. How different it would have
been if that had hapened in this Tab-
ernacle, and the bodies of t*wo mur-
dered girls had been found secreted

around this organ! The world would
have known it in twenjty-four hours,
and it would have been charged to the
doctrines of the "Mormon" Church.
The Cincinnati Enquirer of Sept. 7—
about ten days before this awful thing
happened in New York— gave an ac-
count of a minister belonging to the
Baptist church. He had cut the throat
of his wife, and was found with a razor
in one hand and the Bible in the othei
hand. He was reading extracts from
the Bible on blood atonement, and he
was crying out that without the shed-
ding of blood there is no forgiveness;
and he endeavored to justify his terri-
ble crime by what he found in the
Bible. The paper went on to say that
he was very high in Baptist church
councils, and that he had occupied
some of the most prominent pulpits of
the Baptist church in the state. But
did they charge the deed up to the Bap-
tist church? No! How different it
would have been if a "Mormon" Apos-
tle had done such a thing! They
would not have said the poor man had
gone crazy; but they would have said
that he was following the instructions,
given him by the authorities of the
"Mormon" Church.

I tell you they circulate some most
infamous lies about this people, and if
they do not repent they will be
damned, and they will stay in that
condition until the Lord in His mercy
permits some "Mormon" Elder to go
and help them out of it. I pray that
their eyes may be opened, and that
they may repent; and if they do not
repent, I pray God in His mercy to
take them away from the earth, to
where they cannot do any more lying.

My brethren and sisters, you can see
that I am a little warm; but if you
will go out in the missionary field and
meet these things as I have met them,-
and as every Elder meets them, you
will at least be indignant when you
know how the leaders of church or-
ganizations and the newspapers
throughout the length and breadth of
this land are lying about your faith. I
have been born and raised in this
Church. I received a testimony of the
Gospel from God, not from my father
But my father and my mother taught

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

me from infancy that in the sight of
God murder is the most awful crime
man can commit, and next to that is
adultery. The way was pointed out by
them whereby I could receive a testi-
mony of the Gospel for myself, and I
have listened to the whisperings of the
still small voice, which has given me
a testimony, so that I do know, as I
know that the sun shines, that Joseph
Smith was a Prophet of God. I do
know that his successors were proph-
ets of God, and I do know that Presi-
dent Joseph F. Smith is the Prophet,
Seer and Revelator of God upon the
earth today, and that these men here
are Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I never received this testimony from
my parents; I received it from God;
and I know that when I stand before
the judgment seat of the Almighty and
the books are opened, this testimony
will be recorded there for or against
me. So that I bear my testimony in-
telligently, knowing that I have to
meet it, and in the name of Jesus
Christ I say I know that this is the
Gospel of our Lord and Savior that has
been restored to the earth in the age
in which we live, and that it is now
being preached as a witness unto all
the nations of the earth, that the end
may come. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER J. A. McRAE,

(President of the Colorado Mission).

My brethren and sisters, I can say
that I rejoice this morning in having
the opportunity of meeting with you in
conference. I look forward with fond
anticipation to the time when I can
meet here and hear the words of the
servants of the Lord. While I am un.
der the sound of their voices and hear
the inspired words that come from
them, I feel that I will never do any-
thing wrong as long as I live. I have
heard Elders in the mission field, while
they have been assembled in confer-
ence, say, "I feel now that I could go
out and spend my whole life in preach-
ing the Gospel." But sometimes, after
leaving these places of worship, we for-
get what we have heard, and we drift
back again. Hence it is necessary for

us to be constantly reminded of our
duty. Our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, while on earth, realized the
necessity of preaching the Gospel unto
His people; for He said unto His Apos-
tles, "Feed my sheep." He realized that
the Saints should be preached to, and
tauglit, and reminded of their duties
day by day. It is essential that we.
pray constantly, that we be not led in-
to temptation, nor do that which will
grieve the Spirit of the Lord.

I feel well in the Gospel. I know it i»
the power of God unto salvation. I love
to hear the servants of the Lord ad-
dress us from time to time. I love to
hear the voices of those who love the
Gospel. I have been deiighted this
morning in hearing the voices of my
brethren who have spoken the prin-
ciples of the Gospel. I have been
made glad to hear our Prophet say
that Zion is prospering and growing in
the land. I can realize this myself. I
can also realize the influence which tht
good people of Zion have among the
people of the world. As has been said
many times, I know that God and one
righteous man is a majority; and I
know that if we will live according to
the light which we receive from tim<»
to time through the servants of the»
Lord, the Elders who are in the mis-
sion field preaching the Gospel will
have an easier time.

The mission over which I have the
privilege of presiding is an extensive
one, reaching from Canada on the
north to Mexico on the south, from the
Missouri river on the east to Califor-
nia on the west, and including fivt»
states and two territories. We haves
laboring in that mission about 46 El-
ders. From the first of January last
the Elders have visited about 60,000
houses. In making these visits I sup-
pose it would be a fair estimate to
say that they have preached the Gospel
to 150,000. They have distributed
about 40,000 tracts bearing upon the
principles of the Gospel and telling the
people how they travel and how they
preach the Gospel without purse and
scrip. They have been sent out to bear
testimony to the divinity of the mis-
sion of Joseph Smith the Pruphet. Dur-
ing that time there have been distrib-

ELDER HYRUM M. SMITH.

11

uted several hundred hooks. Many
thousands of people have heard the
proclamation of the Gospel, on the
street corner and in the various halls
in which we have held services; and
though the baptisms have been very
few indeed compared to the great num-
ber who have been visited, I feel that
much good has been done. The Spirit of
the Lord has been with the Elders, and
I feel that the leaven is beginning to
work among the people.

A few weeks ago a lady physician
came to our office, and she said, "Mr.
McRae, I want to talk to you for a
short time on your method of con-
trolling your young people. I realize
that you have more control over your
rising generation than any people upon
the face of the earth. Our young peo-
ple are slipping away from us gradual-
ly, and falling into vice, and we can-
not control them. How do you man-
age?" I told her how we managed, and
detailed to her the work done in the
Mutual Improvement associations, the
Primary associations, the Sunday
schools and other institutions I told
her about our Church schools, about
our ward teachers visiting the people,
and about the special missionaries that
are called in the various wards and
stakes to visit the young people and
exhort them to diligence. She said,
"Will you be kind enough to have an
interview with one of our ministers
and tell him how he can work along
these lines.' " I remarked to her that
I would willingly do so, but that I was
afraid he could not live to it or teach
it to his congregation. Why? she
asked. My answer was, "He requires
a salary to preach the Gospel. When-
ever he arises to preach to his congre-
gation and says that which they do not
like, they say that he will have to stop
preaching that way or they will stop
his salary." "Now," said I, "when I
preach to the people, I do not care
whose toes I tread on; I do not carts
who I strike; I teach the truth, and
no matter where it hits they cannot
come to me and say, 'We'll stop your
salary because I haven't any to stop.
That is the difference between your
minister and me." That is one great
difference between the ministers of

the world, who are professing to
preach the Gospel unto the people, and
the Elders of the Lord Jesus Christ. I
would sooner be a humble Elder
preaching the Gospel unto the people,
bearing testimony that Jesus is the
Christ and that Joseph Smith is a
Prophet of God, than to be the greatest
"divine" upon the face of the earth.

I pray that the Lord will bless us
during this conference, and that He
will inspire those who speak unto us,
that we may be fed with the bread of
life, that when we go from here wt
►will form a resolution in our minds
that we and our families will serve
God and keep His commandments. May
the Lord bless us to this end, is my
prayer. Amen.

ELDER HYRUM M. SMITH.

Apostates sacrifice the most- -Professed ministers
of Jesus guilty of misrepresentation — God
will exeoute justice; the Saints' mission Is
peace.

I have greatly rejoiced this morning,
brethren and sisters, in the testimony
of those who have spoken and in hear-
ing a report of the condition of somo
of The missionary fields. It seems from
the reports of the brethren that not a
great number have given heed to the
preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
by His servants who are endeavoring to
save them; yet we are told that hun-
dreds of thousands have been preached
tu, and thus warned of the coming
judgments of God. For my own part,
I would rather retain faithful and firm
ten members of the Church who are al-
ready converted than convert one hun-
dred out in the world.

Brethren and sisters, I hope that in
your hearts is burning that same testi-
mony which has been borne by our
brethren here today, and that it is su
firmly established there that it will bfe
impossible for you to ever fall from
the Church. To apostatize from the
Church would be your own loss. As
has been said, no physical injury or
harm of any other kind would come to
you from the Church itself; but in
leaving the faith which you have es-
poused you would only cut yourselves
off from the fellowship of good man

12

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

and women, and, what is more, from
the fellowship of God our Eternal Fath-
er. We often hear it said that sacri-
fice brings forth the blessings of
heaven, and that we should make sac-
rifices for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
AH this may be true, but from my
view-point the man who cuts himsel*
off from the Church and denies himself
full fellowship therein is the one who
makes the greater sacrifice; for by so
doing he sacrifices the fellowship of the
Spirit of the Lord and welcomes dark-
ness rather than light; in fact, there
is no good thing that he does not sac-
lifice.

With my brethren who have spoken,
I have a testimony of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. I know it is true, i
Know that every principle that has ever
bten taught by the servants of the
Lord, from the Prophet Joseph Smith
till now, is true; and everyone of them
tends to the development of mankind,
to lift them up and make them better.
There is no principle that is degrading
in the least. We cannot compromise
with the world; we cannot meet them
h'tlf way; but we are in duty bound
to go all the way for the purpose of
warning them and preaching the Gospel
as we have received it. And unless
those who hear the Gospel accept every
ptinciple of it they cannot become
members of the Church of Christ. There
is no half way business with the Lat-
ter-day Saints. You have either to ac-
cept every principle that has been
taught by God Almighty or you cannot
h^ baptized in the Church of Jesus
Christ. We have no right to do other-
wise. Jesus Christ taught the people
in His day that all those who came to
H?m must be born again; and He sent
His Apostles forth to preach the Gospel
to every creature, and he that believed
and was baptized, He said should be
saved, but he that believed not shouM
be damned. That is the only thing we
can do.

Now, we have charity for the world,
but I glory in the testimony of Brother
Ben E. Rich. I have a sort of indig-
nant strain in my own blood when I
hear these falsehoods spoken against
us by men professing to be ministers of
Jesus Christ. An appeal was made to

the Gentiles who live in our midst, but
I do not expect to see any number of
thorn, however long they have lived in
our midst, ever stand up and be men
enough to deny to the world the lies
that are told about us. I do expect,
though, that if they go away from Salt
Lake City for a period they will enter
into the spirit of their brothers and
lie with them. That is the only thing
I expect from them, especially from
those who wear the long coats and are
professed ministers of the Gospel. We
might name many of them to you, but
you know them as well as I do.

The Latter-day Saints, from the be-
ginning until now, have suffered from
the misrepresentations of this class of
men, and I expect that we will suffer
until Christ comes to reign from just
such men. The hand of Satan is raised
against the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, and he finds these
professed ministers of the Gospel ready
tools through which to work; and just
so long as these conditions exist do I
expect that these men will be employed
in his service. Were not the Prophet
Joseph Smith and his brother murdered
in cold blood by a mob led on by men
who claimed to be ministers of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ? Did not they,
in their piety, as the Jews of old, cry
out, Away with this fellow? They said,
is he not a blasphemer? Is he net
teaching false doctrine? Is he not
leading away our sons and daughters-:
from the doctrines and traditions of
their fathers? Why, if we let this man
go on he will turn the whole world up-
side down. Therefore, away with him,
murder him; anything to get him out of
the way! And did they not do it? Did
they not partake of the same spirit
that those who crucified the Son of
God had? And did they not prosecute
their devilish work even to a culmina-
tion? Certainly they did. I feel warm,
too, at these things; for my uncle and
rny own grandfather were the men who
were thus slain, and in my veins flows
the same blood that was shed then on
the soil of Illinois, and that still cries
to God for vengeance. But while mv
prayers shall ever ascend to God for
vengeance upon those who have slain
the prophets, anciently and today, yet

ELDER J. G. DUFFIN.

13

were those men brought before me and
their guilt established beyond the pos-
sibility of a doubt, I would say, Let
them go and let God execute His own
justice; and I would pray, O God, bo
merciful to them in the justice which
Thou dost execute, because they knew
not what they did. If they did know,
then oh, how worthy are they of the
most dire punishment that God can
give to the murderer!

My voice shall ever be raised in de •
fense of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and
of the Latter-day Saints; and it shall
e^er be raised against those who de-
nounce us and lie about us. May God
bless you, brethren and sisters. May
ycu get a testimony of the Gospel for
yourselves, so that, whatever people
imy say or do, we will be able to en-
dure all things, even to the very end,
and then be saved in the kingdom of
God. Then we will turn our attention,
as we are now doing, to the salvation
of those who have spoken against VL3.
Our mission is a mission of peace, of
salvation and of goodwill to every man
"who will repent of his sins and turn
unto God. To every one who will cease
to do evil, who will cease to backbite,
to lie and to bear false witness, will
we give the hand of fellowship, and
welcome him, if he repent truly, into
the Church of Christ. But, so far as I
am concerned, I hope I will be able to
establish myself so firmly in the Church
that though the whole world rise
against us, and though it cost my life
with the lives of my brethren, I will
remain faithful and firm to the testi-
mony which God has given me. May the
spirit of testimony rest upon us ail,
any may we indeed live near unto God
our Eternal Father, and keep His com-
mandments, in spite of all that may be
s.i id or done, is my prayer in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

The choir and congregation sang the
hymn which begins:

Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah.

Benediction by Elder Thomas E. Bas-
sett, president of Fremont Stake.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The choir and congregation sang:

Now let us rejoice in the day of salva-
tion.

No longer as strangers on earth need
we roam,

Good tidings are sounding to us and

each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption

will come.

Prayer was offered by Elder William
Budge, president of Bear Lake Stake.

Singing by the choir and congrega-
tion:

Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor
fear:

But with joy wend your way.

ELDER J. G. DUFFIN.

(■President of Southwestern States Mis-
sion.)

I desire with all my heart, my breth-
ren and sisters, that I may be led by
the inspiration of the Spirit of God
during the time that I shall speak to
you this afternoon. There is one lesson,
at least, that I have learned during my
brief life, and it is this: no man can
reach the hearts of the children of our
Father in heaven, in speaking upon the
principles of eternal life, save he is led
by the inspiration of the Spirit of God.
So important has our Father thought
it to be that His servants should be
led by that Spirit, that He has given
commandment that they should not at-
tempt to teach unless they knew they
were led by His Holy Spirit.

While the brethren have been speak-
ing today I have thought a little about
the opening up of this great work that
you and I are engaged in, and of some
questions that are presented to us when
we go among the nations of the earth
and bear witness unto our fellows that
Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and
that Jesus is the Christ. When we bear
witness of this great truth revealed in
these latter days we are frequently
asked, "Why do you so often bear wit-
ness that Joseph Smith is a Prophet
of God? Do you believe that he takes
the place of Jesus, the Sa_vior?" If we
should answer that question dogmati-
cally, we would say that we bear wit-
ness to that great fact because it is
true; but that, I take it, is not suf-
ficient. Whenever our Father in heav-
en has had a dispensation of the Gos-
pel upon this earth, He has sent to
the earth choice spirits, who had been
foreordained in the heavens because of

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

their pre-existent faithfulness, through
whom He could reveal His will, and
upon whom He could confer the keys of
power and authority to minister His
word among His children upon the
earth. The time came when the prom-
ises of our Father were going to be ful-
filled pertaining to His work in the last
days. Again He sent to earth one of
those choice spirits, who, when he came
here, was given the name of Joseph
Smith. Through him Father in heaven
revealed His will again to His children,
and to him He gave authority. Through
that great man of God has been op-
ened up the work of salvation for the
living and redemption for the dead in
this the greatest of all dispensations
that have been given to man. I hold
as a principle in missionary work that
the first fact to be established before
the people is the great truth that Jo-
seph Smith is the man whom Father
in heaven has raised up for this special
purpose; for if they will not accept of
him they will not accept the revela-
tions of God given through him. It is
because we believe this with all our
hearts that in the mission over which
your humble servant has been called to
preside the Elders hold before the peo-
ple first and foremost^ the great truth
that Joseph Smith is a true Prophet
of God.

A few weeks ago I stood, with Presi-
dent Andrew Kimbail, in the room in
Carthage, Illinois, where our beloved
Prophet and Patriarch laid down their
lives and sealed their ieouiiwny witu
their blood. Years before that time I
made a vow to my Father in heaven
that if He would give unto me His
Holy Spirit, and courage and intelli-
gence sufficient, I would devote my life
to bearing witness to the world that
He had raised up that man of God to
establish His latter-day work. When I
stood in that room and passed to the
window out of which that man of God
threw his body in order to save hia
brethren who were yet alive, I renewed
that vow, with tears streaming down
my face; and I want to say to you this
day, especially to the young brethren
and sisters in Zion, that again I do
renew that vow, and desire with all
my heart that I may ever be led by that

Spirit of God to lift up my voice and
bear witness that that great man who
there gave his life is a Prophet of God,
and that his testimony, sealed by his
blood, lives today and will live in the
hearts of the children of men.

In the Southwestern States Mission
this fact is second only to the great
truth that Jesus is the Christ. In that
mission we are doing the work of our
Father in heaven as He gives us ability
to do it. "We have about 120 Elders la-
boring there, and have had two of the
beautiful, intelligent daughters of Zion,
but one has recently returned from
filling a faithful mission and is now in
this building; the other is still there,
doing good, efficient work. "We hope to
have others of the daughters of Zion
sent to us to assist in the work. Breth-
ren and sisters, your sons who are there
are full of courage and zeal. Your
daughters who have been and are there
are filled with the same spirit of devo-
tion and courage. I bear witness this
day, with regard to the work of our
young sisters, that when they stand
before the people of the world and bear
testimony that Jesus is the Christ, that
Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and
that Father has again spoken from
the heavens, it goes to the hearts of
the people, and they cannot resist the
humble testimony of our beloved sis-
ters.

I would like to say a word with re-
gard to writing to your sons. Never al-
low one line of discouragement to go
from you to them. Never put a thought
in their minds that they should return
home until the men whom God has
chosen to direct His work are moved
upon by the Spirit of God to release
them from their missionary labors. Why
do I say this? Because we have had
occasion sometimes to know that the
work of the Lord has suffered by rea-
son of our young men being taken from
the field before they ought to retu %\,
and they themselves have suffered most
in consequence of it. I know the pres-
idents of missions are careful of the
young men. They are considerate of
your sons. They love them as they love
their owns sons. They would lay down
their lives for your boys, and they are
not going to permit them to do that

ELDER ASAHEL H. WOODRUFF.

15

which would be for their detriment, if
they can help it.

The work of the Lord in that mission
is progressing- reasonably well. Our El-
ders are treated well by the people. It
is a rare exception where they meet
mob violence. We have only had one
case of extreme mob violence in about
three years, and that was in a part of a
state that has always exhibited a rank
spirit towards the work of God; but
even in that state the governor is a
friend to the people of the Lord, as are
some of the judges. I have talked with
leading men in that state, and they
have said to me, "Mr. Duffin, I want to
say to you that the better element in
this state, the men of thought and prog-
ress, are not bitterly opposed to your
people, but are friendly towards you."
That is the spirit which prevails gen-
erally among the intelligent and think-
ing classes of the people throughout the
Southwestern States Mission. There is
one exception to this rule, and that is
among those who pretend to be follow-
ers of the meek and lowly Nazarene.
From that class of people come the bit-
terest statements and opposition that
we have to meet. A few weeks ago we
held a conference of the Missouri El-
ders in Kansas City. The leading news-
papers there treated us nicely, and gave
fair accounts of the conference. They
sent their reporters to our meetings,
and they advertised us free of charge
before the conference began. This
stirred up the anger of some of these
men who pretend to be followers of the
meek and lowly Nazarene and they
gave us a little more advertising in
their Sunday night sermons. As soon
as the reporters got those sermons
they came right to our office and want-
ed to know whether the ministers'
statements were true or not. They
said they wanted to treat us fairly and
get our side of the question, and they
reported pretty fairly what we said in
reply to the attack of those men who
are not following the Savior, though
they pretend to be. President Rich said
he sometimes got warm in talking
about these men and thinking how they
treated our young men who are full of
faith and zeal and who are doing a
work of unselfishness among man-
kind. I do not suppose there is a presi-

dent of a mission anywhere but gets
angry sometimes at this, and righteous-
ly, too.

Brethren and sisters, we reported last
spring that we had issued a ten thou-
sand edition of the Book of Mormon in
that mission. Since last May we have
distributed nearly seven thousand cop-
ies of that sacred book, to various mis-
sions and throughout the country; and
it is now going out by the thousands
where formerly it was distributed by
the hundreds. It is down to a price
that can be reached by the people. Since
I have been a student of this great lat-
ter-day work I have always held that
if we must speculate out of any books,
it should not be out of the Book of
Mormon; for when the angel delivered
the plates to the Prophet Joseph Smith
he warned him against using them for
the purpose of getting gain. I believe
that same principle should obtain in
the publishing and distribution of the
book. We have acted upon that prin-
ciple in contributing of our means in
this direction. Your sons have given
of their means to put this book at such
a price that the people could reach it.

I pray, my brethren and sisters, that
the Spirit of the Lord may be in the
heart of everyone who attends this con-
ference, and in the heart of every mem-
ber of the Church, and that it may go
forth among the nations of the earth
and enter into the hearts of the people
and open them to the reception of the
eternal truths of heaven that have been
revealed in this dispensation. I want
to bear you my witness this day that I
know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of
God. I know that Brigham Young is a
Prophet of God. I know that these tes-
timonies are being borne among the na-
tions by our young men. I know that
our beloved brother who sits on this
stand today— Joseph F. Smith— is a

true and a living Prophet of God, and
that he holds the keys of the kingdom
in the day in which he lives. God bless

you. Amen.

ELDER ASAHEL WOODRUFF.

(President of the Northern States
Mission.)

My brethren and sisters, while stand-
ing before you upon this occasion I

16

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

earnestly desire an interest in your
faith and prayers,- that I may be
clothed upon with the Spirit of the
Lord, to enable me to report truthful-
ly the conditions which prevail in the
Northern States Mission. We have
heard today reports from that portion
of the country that is washed by the
waters of the Pacific, and from por-
tions washed by the Atlantic and the
great Gulf as well as from
the great interior country em-
braced within the Colorado Mis-
sion. It is my privilege to re-
port that part of the country which
may be called the district of the great
lakes. Of late years the Northern
States Mission has been shorn of some
of the outlying States which were
formerly part of it. The State of
Missouri was given to the Southwest-
ern States Misson, the States of Kan-
sas and North and South Da-
kota were added to the Colo-
rado Mission, and Ohio to the
Southern States Mission. At the pres-
ent time the Northern States Mission
is very compact, the city of Chicago
being almost centrally located, geo-
graphically. There are six states em-
braced in the mission, viz.: the state
of Michigan (which in the early rise
of the work furnished many splendid
converts to the Church), the state of
Indiana, the state of Illinois (whose
soil drank in the blood of the Prophets
that were slain for the testimony
which they bore, and within whose
borders are many points of historical
interest connected with the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints),
the state of Iowa (into whose wilder-
ness the band of pilgrims made their
way when they commenced that great
exodus in the summer of 1846), the state
of Wisconsin (which furnished the "ce-
dars of Lebanon" for the beautiful tem-
ple at Nauvoo), and the great and beau-
tiful state of Minnesota, with its more
than ten thousand lakes, including
Itasca, which gives birth to the great
Father of Waters— the Mississippi riv-
er. We have about 100 Elders laboring
in that mission at the present time.

Our work has been somewhat ham-
pered the last few months, during
which time it has been my privilege to

preside over that part of the Lord's
vineyard, owing to many of the Elders
having to be released, and a large num-
ber of fresh ones sent into the field.
I will say, however, that, notwithstand-
ing the great majority of our force are
young men, they are laboring assidu-
ously, conscientiously and diligently
to spread the work of the Lord in that
part of the world, and their efforts are
being met with reasonable success,
though in point of baptisms the suc-
cess is not as encouraging as we could
wish. During the past eight months
about 80,000 tracts have been distribut-
ed, and practically the same number of
families have been visited, and 25,000
revisited; 2,500 meetings have been held,
among this number being about 1,000
street meetings. I do not know that we
can trace any conversions directly to
our efforts upon the streets, but it has
allayed a great deal of prejudice and
has warned the people of the impending
judgments which God designs to pour
out upon the world. We have also seen
this beneficial effect resulting from our
street meetings: in districts where
they have been held, the Elders have
received a more cordial welcome at
the homes of the people in their tract-
ing. We have in the mission three
Young Ladies' associations, one Young
Men's association, and seven Sunday
schools, all of which are doing effective
work. Among those who have identi-
fied themselves with the work in these
states we have some good, honest souls,
who are thoroughly converted to all the
principles of the Gospel promulgated by
the Elders, and who have paid their
tithes with care and precision. Many
of our converts are employed in the
factories and stores, and they will come
religiously each Sabbath day and pay
one-tenth of their earnings, thereby
setting a commendable example to
many of our people at home.

The spirit of gathering seems to take
possession of the people almost as soon
as they embrace the Gospel, and it is
hard to restrain them from carrying
out their desires in this matter. This
tendency weakens our branches to a
great extent, and we try to discourage
it as far as possible, advising the peo-
ple, in preference to gathering and

ELDER ASAHEL WOODRUFF.

17

leaving employment which they have
and going where they will perhaps find
it difficult to get suitable employment,
to make a brief trip to Zion and at-
tend to their work in the Temple of
the Lord, which is the great incentive
for them to gather with the people.

I believe that, aside from the work
of the conversion of people in the
world, one of the great features of mis-
sionary work is the conversion of the
corps of Elders who are constantly
traveling throughout the nations of the
earth. Missionary work is one of the
best educators that a young man could
possibly have. It gives that practi-
cal education which fits them for the
battle of life. It has been contended
by people who are not of our faith that
the young Latter-day Saints who
show a disposition to follow in the
footsteps of their fathers do so because
they have inherited their prejudices.
They look upon it as a case of the blind
following the blind, and the ignorant
following those who are still more ig-
norant. They say that the solution of
this trouble is greater light, greater
knowledge, and opportunity for the
young men to come in contact with the
purer (?) state of society which ex-
ists outside of Utah. That is largely
the contention of the people who are
opposed to our faith, notwithstanding
the great amount of evidence which
time is continually accumulating to
show the plan to be a rank failure.
The young men of our Church do go out
Into the world, with very limited
knowledge or experience, perhaps with
no certain knowledge of the divinity
of those principles which they have
embraced, except that which comes
through a consciousness of the honest,
probity and truthfulness of their par-
ents who believe in the Gospel. They
go forth into the world, which has
grown rank with conflicting notions and
Ideas, and they are compelled to raise
their hand against every creed, because
every creed lifts its head against them.
Surely this is a condition the most
lavorable that could be desired to erad-
icate from their young minds whatever
respect they might have for the faith
-of their fathers, if anything could do
ao; and yet the leaders of the Church

and the fathers and mothers of the
young men all unite in urging them to
take the very step which our enemies
declare will be the means of eradicat-
ing from their minds whatever belief
they have in the faith of their fathers.
We see these young men by the hun-
dreds taking the advice which comes
from such opposite elements. They go
out into the world, remaining there
from 18 months to 3 years or more, and
in 999 cases out of 1,000 they return
with a firm conviction of the truth, the
purity and the unsurpassing reason-
ableness of the Gospel. There might
not be anything remarkable about an
occasional conversion among these
young men to a faith that had long
been professed by them, though per-
haps but little understood; but almost
without exception these young men re-
turn with a strong personal testimony
of the truth which their fathers have
espoused.

There are many ways in which mis-
sionary experience is of great value
to those who engage in it. It gives
them a breadth of charity and consid-
eration for their fellow creatures
which cannot be obtained in any other
Way. It gives them an insight into
the hopes, the aspirations and the con-
ditions that exist in the world. It
gives them a broader understanding
of our Father's purposes in connection
with the placing of His children here
upon the earth. It also develops with-
in them that quality which is declared
by all people to be one of the cardin-
al virtues— unselfishness. The very fact
of their being willing to sacrifice home,
friends, and all that is near and dear
to them, for a period, and go forth to
suffer the scorn, the contumely, the
hatred and the rebuffs of the world
which they have to meet, is an evidence
of their sincerity and their unselfish-
ness. This gathering of people from
all parts of the world, and this send-
ing forth of our Elders to every na-
tion under heaven, by which they be-
come acquainted with the conditions
that exist in the world, and then their
returning home with the experience
which they have acquired, is filling this
state and surrounding states with men
possessed of a knowledge of the world

18

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

that cannot be found in any other com-
munity on the earth. I believe that this
continued will be the means of estab-
lishing here the greatest, the purest
and the most progressive people upon
the face of the earth.

My testimony is that this work is
true, that Joseph Smith was a divine
instrument in the hands of the Al-
mighty of establishing His work in the
last days upon the earth, and that be
did his work nobly and well; that he
was succeeded by spirits which had
been held in reserve tc come forth in
this important dispensation, to continue
the work and to build upon the found-
ation laid by the Prophet Joseph; thst
a prophet of God still stands at the
head of this Church, and that He will
continue to place prophets at our head
to receive His will and deliver it unto
the people. I pray that God will help
us to work out our salvation with fear
and trembling, and to be true and loy-
al to the Priesthood, to God, to our
friends and to ourselves, and to be
counted worthy to be numbered among
the jewels of our Father when He shall
come to make them up. I ask these
blessings in the name of the Lord Je-
sus. Amen.

ELDER NEPHI PRATT,

(President of Northwestern States Mis-
sion.)

I feel thankful to God for the bless-
ings that we have received tnis day by
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in
listening to the inspired remarks of the
brethren who have spoken. To come
from the missionary field and look upon
the faces of the Saints and hear the
voice of inspiration from the mouths
of the prophets, is a great privilege. It
is greatly enjoyed by those who from
day to day and from month to month
go through the great cities of our land
and seldom look upon a friendly face.

The Northwestern States Mission, over
which I have been called to preside, is
a small mission in some respects. It
consists of the State of Washington,
British Columbia, Montana, and a part
of Idaho. I took the presidency of that
mission and started my labors on the
14th of May last. I found about twenty

great cities in the mission, and many
large towns, and there were only eight
Elders. They were so few and so inex-
perienced that it seemed when I ar-
rived there like we had nothing to work
with. But we commenced a little more
systematically than the Elders had been
doing, and we started to hold street
meetings in Spokane, and in Butte,
where they had almost given up the
work. In our preaching instead of
speaking so much upon faith, repent-
ance and baptism, as we have in years
past, we were led to preach upon the
divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith,
and upon the fact that God had once
again uttered His voice from the heav-
ens, and that He had sent forth divine-
ly-authorized servants into the great
field of the world to warn the people-
of the judgments of God that are com-
ing upon the earth; for the people of
Washington and Montana are so utter-
ly indifferent to the Bible and its con-
tents that those whom the Elders can
reach seem to have no interest in those
things. We cannot reach the family
people, who make up the church-going
members in the various cities where we-
labor; for they reject us, shut us out,
and will not have us. When we Dreach
on the streets our tongues are loosed
upon the subject of the coming of the
Son of God and the signs that were to
precede it, and we are led to proclaim
that this people are the ones that are
doing this great and marvelous work.
We have also been able, by the power
and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to
defend the Prophet Brigham Young,
and to show up the majesty and the
greatness that rested upon him in es-
tablishing the Latter-day Saints in this
place, where in the beginning, when we-
looked down at the earth, it was like
an ash-heap, and when we looked at the
heavens, the sun's scorching rays came
down upon our unprotected heads with-
out pity. We did not know anything
about irrigation, and we could not tell,
if we dropped the seed in the soil,
whether it would ever grow. We have
told the people that in the midst of
these difficulties, so huge and so appall-
ing, there was one potent voice — the-
voice of Brigham Young, who, sticking
his cane in the soil, said, "Here shall

ELDER NEPHI PRATT.

19

be erected the Temple of our God;" and
there was one voice that could say,
"Here shall be builded a great city."
We have testified to this, and to what
it has done for the people of the west;
and when we have defended the proph-
ets and declared these things, we have
been received royally, and our hearts
have been made to rejoice when we
went on the streets without fear and
trembling.

In the mission we now have 15 Elders
in all, a few of whom are in Spokane,
a few in Butte, and a couple in Ana-
conda. "Western men do not threaten to
mob us. They seem \o feel above it.
When we have been attacked on the
streets by some wicked or quarrelsome
person, we have found that we had de-
fenders, who rose up and spoke well of
us; while some have bx>rne testimony
to the greatness of the men that set-
tled this country and made it possible
to settle the other countries west of
here. We have three branches of the
Church — one in Butte, one in Anaconda,
and one just established in Spokane
with 22 members. In the five months I
have been there we have baptized 17.
We have Sunday schools in two of our
branches, and expect to establish one
in Spokane next Sunday or the Sunday
following. In Spokane we have to hold
our Sabbath meetings in our private
residence, and we are beginning to have
it crowded each Sunday, with tts many
strangers as Saints. Our Elders are
young men, without any training in
singing. You ought to go out on the
streets and see how lamentable it is to
call what we do singing. Men that
cannot carry a tune, to save their lives;
but, like Brother Grant, they are per-
severing, and we are getting so that we
sometimes sing in harmony, if the Spirit
of the Lord rests upon us. If I were
to speak my mind, I would say to the
rising generation of men who expect to
fulfill missions in this Church, learn to
become good singers; learn to sing in
parts, so that you can form singing
clubs. When you go into the missionary
field it will help you greatly, and it will
open doors to you that will not be
opened if you do not possess that gift.

Brethren and sisters, in our mission
we have not been able to set the world

on fire by any means. I never saw
such indifference as there seems to be
there. Men do not want you to speak
the word "religion" in their hearing.
They have their business to attend to,
and they won't talk religion. There is
only one here and there that cares to
speak upon the principles of the Gospel.
But we have considerable opposition
there from the ministers, and from
some apostates that have been spewed
out of the mouth of the Lord. They
get into our street meetings and begin
to abuse the prophets and find fault
with us and the word of God; but we
ignore them. We will not contend with
them, and they are getting so that they
have no following, a nd I am glad of it.
In the cities where we preach on the
streets, we have good crowds to hear
us, and some of them are quite intelli-
gent and attentive; but they are not
made up of men who care anything
about it after we are through. Some
of them will come and bear testimony
to the excellent character of our people,
and that is all. We have a number of
scattered Saints there, among them
some young people, and they are hoping
that some day they may come where
they can get good companions and mar-
ry. They are holding themselves from
the company of the wicked, trusting
that in the future they may have the
blessing of becoming united with the
righteous. They are mixed up with the
sectarians, and we cannot hold meet-
ings with them. The best we can do ia
to send an Elder among them occasion-
ally, and then very often they cannot
get a schoolhouse to meet in. But we
feel blessed and encouraged. We have
the still small voice up there, and re-
ceive of the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost. We feel to bless the name of
the Lord who gave us that mission, and
to proclaim His Gospel. We would be
discouraged, did we not know that it ia
His work, a nd not ours.

One evening, on the streets of Butte,
we met a minister, who got up a new
argument against us. We had been
preaching that a church without apos-
tles and prophets, pastors and teachers,
called by divine revelation from God,
was not the body of Christ; that a
church which did not have these offi-

20

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

cers was a thing without parts, with-
out limbs, without eyes, and that a
church without the Holy Ghost was
dead. This man said that he wanted to
tell the people that we were a deform-
ity. He had studied Mormonism seven
months, and he said the Mormons be-
lieved in a great many things that were
not in the New Testament. He went
on to say that we believe in three Pres-
idents to preside over the church, and
there was no such thing establishd by
Jesus; we believed in High Priests, and
there had been no High Priests in the
Church in the days of Jesus; we be-
lieved in Patriarchs, and there was no
such thing as Patriarchs provided for
in the New Testament days. He con-
tinued, "If we are a body that is dead,
without limbs or eyes, what are they?
Are they not a body with three ears,
and four arms, and eight legs?" And
he called us a deformity. "Well, the peo-
ple did not receive him very well, and
the answer of the young Elder to his
remarks was so overwhelming against
him that he departed very quickly. We
have been blessed and prospered, and it
has not been possible for whatever in-
telligence has been brought against the
work of God to bring it into shame or
humiliation. I will tell you what we
need in that mission. We need 80 El-
ders. But they are giving us mission-
aries just as fast as they can spare
them, and we are thankful for them.

I ask God the Eternal Father to bless
this work, to promote its interest every-
where, to bless the missions and the
mission presidents, with all the mission-
ary Elders, to bless the Presidency of
the Church and all the interests of this
people everywhere. I ask God to bless
them all, and to plant our feet wher-
ever we are colonized, that our influence
may be felt, and that we may exhibit
those qualities of salvation that shall
attract men to us. I ask it in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER JOHN HENRY SMITH.

Friendly manifestations where persecution ex-
isted before— Favorable time to preaoh the
Gospel — Liberal-minded listen respectfully,
but few yield obedience— Talents should be
used for the blessing of all.

My brethren and sisters, it is a
matter of pleasure to me to be with

you in attendance upon this confer-
ence, and to have listened to the wor Is
which have been spoken by our breth-
ren who have been in the missionary
fie-d, seeking to sow the seeds of the
Gospel and to discharge that obligation
required at the hands of those that are
warned, namely, that they shall warn
their neighbors. The brethren ha\e
given us in brief some of their experi-
ences in connection with the work that
has been assigned unto them. It has
been my privilege in the past few weeks
to have ha,d some little opportunity of
mingling with the people in several
states of the Union, and noting condi-
tions under which the Elders are labor-
ing in some of the fields to which they
have been appointed by the presiding
authority of the Church. My own ex-
perience while away from home in the
discharge of a duty that had fallen to
my lot, was among the pleasurable ones
of my life. In an absence from home
of something like four weeks, I do not
know that in the entire time, although
I mingled with a great many, I had
one wry face made at me because I
happened to be a "Mormon." I do not
know that any of our brethren who
were with me were subjected to any
evidence of disrespect, or that any ex-
pressions of animosity were in any way
directed against the organization of
which we are members. We received
the most thoughtful treatment, and in
the discharge of the duties that were
incumbent upon us were enabled, I be-
lieve, to impress upon the minds of
seme of our fellowmen a higher regard
and a better understanding of our pur-
pose than they possibly had before.

Among the most pleasing experiences
through which it was my privilege to
pass in connection with other brethren,
was one such as stated by Presidert
Duffin as having occurred in his ex-
perience, and that was in the payment
of a visit to Hancock county, Illinois,
and to receive very kindly consideration
from many of the old-time citizens ot
that county. Their expressions were
of the most friendly character, and
many of them absolutely and uncondi-
tionally declared that Hancock county
today was "Jack-Mormon," and not
9nti-"Mormon," and they expressed a

ELDER JOHN HENRY SMITH.

21

wish that it were possible for the Saint i
t<- again establish themselves upon
that land and build up again, by their
thrift and industry, the towns that
had withered after the removal of the
Saints. The sentiment that we found
among many of these men and women
was to me an evidence of a working
change in the breasts of the people;
and I am of the opinion that the op-
portunities for extending the Gospel fn
cur own nation are better today than
they have ever been since the Saints
left their homes in the east and estab-
lished themselves in the valleys of the
mountains. "While there are some men
who are given to misrepresenting our
character, and the press of the coun-
try in many instances take up very
readily anything that will reflect upon
and in a measure retard the progress of
the latter-day work, the constant travel
of the better elements of the people of
the United States is having the effect
to wear away and disprove the false
st\tements that have been heralded
broadcast in times that are past and
gone, and the possibility of arousing a
spirit of hatred and animosity again.it
u.<? is not so marked as formerly. There
are large bodies of fair-minded, hon-
orable men and women in all parts o*
the land, and while they may not be as
aggressive in their spirit as the enemies
of the Saints are, they are ready to
give aid and comfort to the Elders of
the Church in the performance of their
part, and to defend them if necessary.

I feel that no better time has existed
for us to fulfill that great responsibility
of preaching the Gospel and warning
the world than exists at the present
time. Our contact with men in bust -
noss, our association with them in the
variety of congresses and conventions
that are held in the various parts of
the nation, has awakened in the breasts
of many thoughtful and prudent men
mcst serious thoughts in connection
with our ministry. The large bodies
of men who attend these cattle conven-
tions, irrigation congresses, good roads
congresses, Trans-Mississippi con-
gresses and other representative gath-
erings at which our brethren and other
-rieri from our state have been present,
have accomplished wonders in chang-

ing the spirit of the thoughtful and
fa?rminded of our land. One man who
has figured most conspicuously in al-
most all of these congresses, and who
is eminent in one of our territories, in
a published expression over his own
signature, recently made the statement
that if nothing else had been accom-
plished by these conventions and con-
gresses in this western country than
the obtaining of a better understanding
of "Mormonism" and its purpose in the
world, that alone has amply repaid the
p-ople of the Trans-Mississippi country
for the establishment of these gather-
ings. Coming from such a man,' who is
equipped, by the education and train-
ing of his life, to discharge fully and
thoroughly almost any part that might
be required at his hands, after an ex-
tended acquaintance with the men who
h?ive gone from our state to these vari-
ous gatherings, that statement is a wit-
ness to me of an advance in the line of
thought and in the opening up to the
fairminded and generous American peo-
ple a way to allay the intense excite-
ment that in the past has been awak-
ened against us because of a lack of
understanding with regard to our pui-
pose.

I believe this is true, not only within
the confines of our own great govern-
ment, but also beyond our borders in
the great south land and in the lands
to the north of us. While many men
are not inclined to express themselves
vipon the question of our religion, yet
th« justice engendered in their hearts
as a result of their mingling with the
people has broken in pieces many of
the idols of the past, and has destroy-
ed, in a great measure, the work of
the illiberal and smallminded, too many
of whom are found in the ranks of the
clergymen, so lacking in that breadth
and understanding of the principles of
the government under which we live
that their constant clamorings are di-
rected to the hurt of their fellowmen.
But even among the ministers there are
men of broad minds, of big hearts and
generous purposes. While they are not
believers with us in the doctrines of the
Gospel as restored through the admin-
istrations of the prophets in this dis-
pensation, still they recognize the fact

22

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

that in the exercise of their rights and
in the fulfillment of their mission they
cannot regard with respect those that
would trample upon them in the exer-
cise of their rights, and they concede
to their fellowmen the same privileges
that they desire for themselves. All
such men, whether they be without
faith, whether they are acceptors of the
doctrines of the Protestant world, or
believers in Judaism, or members of
that great organization known as the
Catholic church, wherever they may be
found they are among the protectors
and preservers of the liberties of man
and those human rights guaranteed un-
to us by the Constitution of the United
States. To these men, whose hearts
are big, and whose education is in
keeping with the character of the gov-
ernment which the Almighty has per-
mitted to be established in this day, we
may turn our faces with a degree of
safety. But when it comes to those
whose souls are narrowed down to the
acceptance of the idea that their pray-
ers can simply ascend in the interest of
their own little circle, and that liberty
can only be permitted to be enjoyed
by the members of that circle, senti-
ments such as they possess, and which
find expression in a desire to interfere
with the conscience of their fellowmen
will, I trust, gradually decrease in in-
fluence and power until beneath the
flag of the United States, no human
being can be called in question as to
the character of his faith, whether he
worship Mohammed or whether he ac •
cepts the doctrines and views presented
to the world by the great Christian or-
ganizations that are proclaiming Christ
and His ministry in the world.

The promise to us in the introduc-
lion of this work was not that it should
ever become a popular system in the
minds of mankind. The promise made
was that it should gather one
of a city and two of a family.
Up to the present moment, take the
statements of the men who are
in the mission fields of this great coun-
try, and there has been no declaration
that the work which the Almighty has
established in this day has become pop-
ular among the people. A few receive
their message; a few have adm'ni«tered

unto them the ordinance of baptism: a
few aid them in the accomplishment of
their work by providing for their wants,
or by preserving them from the at-
tacks of mobs or unwise and thought-
less people. The work began with a
few; it probably will continue for some
time with a few. But its destiny and
mission will be accomplished upon the
basis designated by our heavenly
Father. The one of a city and the two
of a family will be gathered, will be
nurtured in harmony with our Father's
purposes, and in due time the work will
be established in its fullness and be-
come indeed the joy of the whole earth.
It will not come with a rush; it will not
come by great popular demonstrations;
it will not come as a result of any
great eloquence or skill or power that
we may possess; it will come through
the operations of the still small voice
bearing witness to the hearts of the
few, until step by step and stage by
stage the children of our God will be
assimilated and brought into harmony
with the principles of His. truth; for it
is destined to accomplish its work and
bring about our Father's purpose. "We
note the conditions that grew up in
the ages past, when the Christian re-
ligion became a popular religion; when
the Christianity of the Redeemer was
lost or buried in the paganism that
surrounded it, and when the ordinances
of God's house, with the keys, rights,
authorities and blessings, were lost in
the philosophy and wickedness of that
day.

My brothers and my sisters, before us
is this entire world. Our Father has
given it to us as our field. From its
islands and from its continents, from
its mountains and from its valleys we
are to gather together the children of
our Father, indoctrinate them in an
understanding of the principle of reve-
lation, write upon their hearts the
characteristics of the prophecies of
old, and engender in their minds the
understanding that as prophecy and
revelation were requisite in that form-
er day, so they, in this day, who would
be in communion with our heavenly
Father must seek to obtain that self-
same spirit and drink in of that reve-
lation and prophecy that stall bring

ELDER JOHN HENRY SMITH.

23

"to the souls of men a complete compre-
hension of our Father's purposes in
connection with His great family. To
this end the seeds will have to be sown,
gradually but surely, that little by little
the lump may be assimilated, the condi-
tions may be shaped, the hearts of
God's children may be brought to the
proper understanding, and that upon
their souls shall be written, by the im-
press of His Spirit, the truth of His
work that shall lead them to obey it
and do His bidding.

There are many things we have to do
in connection with the development of
our Father's work that probably in our
experience are very trying to us; but we
look back over the past, as we remem-
ber the conditions that surrounded us
in the state of Illinois, or in the state
of Ohio, or in the state of Missouri,
and we note the changes that have
been wrought in our establishment in
this mountain home, we must glorify
our Father's name that He utilized
means to push us into the valleys of
these mountains, and equip us by the
education that we have received for the
accomplishment of that great work
which He has set us to do. There was
no escape from this. It has come to us
in the accomplishment of His purpose,
and His purpose is the gradual regen-
eration of His children and the estab-
lishment in all the world of the truth
of that message which God the Father
and His Son Jesus Christ made known
to the Prophet of this dispensation, and
to which our brethren have borne tes-
timony this day and become witnesses
of the ministry and mission of the chos-
en ones designated to scatter this seed
and bring to repentance the sons and
•daughters of God. At jio time in the
world's history has there ever been
made so wonderful an accomplishment
in the sowing of seed and in the dis-
semination of principle such as was
made in the life ministry of the Proph-
et Joseph Smith. In almost every
church we hear sung songs of the lat-
ter-day Zion. We hear them clamoring
in many sections of our country for in-
formation bearing upon many princi-
ples in which we believe, and we note
that the thoughtful and prudent men of
the land.as well as of other parts of this

continent upon which we live, desire
our association and companionship, that
the labors of our organization may be
brought to bear to change the condi-
tions in their sections of country and
open the door that more of our Father's
children may be successful in securing
to themselves the blessings and com-
forts of life.

I recognize the fact, my brethren and
sisters, that it is not prudent In me to
speak to you longer; but with my asso-
ciates who have spoken to you this day
I desire to bear my testimony to the
truth of this Gospel. I desire to say to
you practical and thoughtful men
among the Latter-day Saints that our
Father expects you to utilize the tal-
ents that you possess in the creation ol
industries, in the providing of work, in
aiding every child that shall receive ot
that faith which the Almighty has giv-
en unto you, that he may secure for
himself a home, that he may be indoc-
trinated in the principles of eternal
truth, and that all our talents may be
utilized for the spiritual and tempora'
blessing of every one of our Father's
children to the uttermost limit of ou'
capacity. That which we have em-
braced came from a divine source. It'
mission is a mission of regeneration. It
moves forward in the accomplishmenf
of its destiny. Nothing in the world
can stay its progress. That declaration
that "no weapon that is formed against
thee shall prosper; and every tongue
that shall rise against thee in judgment
thou shalt condemn," will operate in
the future as it has in the past. Ail
honor to the honorable, upright and
generous men of this world who stand
upon the basis of fair-dealing among
their fellows, and all dishonor to the
narrowminded, illiberal and ungener-
ous men of the world whose hearts and
minds are not broad enough to register
aright the rights that they themselves
enjoy and that the rights of their fel-
lows should be sacred in every sense of
the word!

May the blessings of God attend you.
May the faith that was delivered to the
prophets of this dispensation And its
lodgment in your hearts and homes.
May you be stalwarts among men in
the defense of human liberty and in

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

the blessing of every creature. May you
impress upon the souls of your sons
and daughters that sacred regard for
human rights that no human being
with your consent should be denied the
exercise of his conscience, so long as ne
does not interfere with the rights or
liberties of any other human being; and
that this principle and spirit may grow

and garnish your lives and enable you
to fulfill your destiny, under the bless-
ing of our God, is my prayer, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir and congregation sang:

^Ye thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.

Benediction by Elder Edward H.
Snow, president of St. George Stake.

SECOND DAY.

Sunday morning, Oct. 5, 1902.

The choir and congregation sang the
hymn which commences:

The Spirit of God like a fire is burning.
The latter-day glory begins to come
forth.

Opening prayer by Elder Albert A.
Smith, president of San Luis Stake.
Singing by the choir:

Lo! the might of God appearing;
From on high Jehovah speaks.

ELDER REED SMOOT.

Striking evidence of friendship — Payment of fast
offerings for the poor— Necessity for avoid-
ance of debt.

My dear brothers and sisters, it is in-
deed an inspiring sight this Sabbath
morning to see this building so well
filled with people who have come to
hear the word of the Lord. I am thank-
ful for the privilege of speaking this
morning and bearing my humble testi-
mony to the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ that has been established in
these last days. I am thankful that I
am in harmony with the Presidency of
this Church, and with the members of
the quorum of< the Twelve. I hope I am
in harmony with every Latter-day
Saint.

If I had been called upon to speak
yesterday, I felt in my soul that I would
liked to have spoken upon the subject
that is causing so much comment in
the newspapers of the United States—
the subject of blood atonement; but as
Brother Ben E. Rich spoke upon it and
explained to a certain extent the posi-

tion of our Church in reference to it, I
will be content in saying that I endorse
every word uttered by him on that
point, and I ask every Latter-day
Saint to read his remarks. I was proud
of all the men who spoke here yester-
day, and who bore their testimonies to
the work of God. I noticed that the
most of them were young men, born in
the church of Jesus Christ, and of
parents who had suffered the hardships
of the early days, and I was delighted
with all of them for the testimonies
which they bore that Jesus was the
Christ and that this was the Church
of Christ. When Brother Rich stood
here and testified that he had not re-
ceived his testimony from his father,
but from God, I was happy in the
knowledge that there were thousands
of young men born in this Church who
could bear the same testimony; and I
know that the world loves a man who
is true to his convictions and fearless in
defending the right, wherever he may
be.

About three weeks ago I received a
letter from one of the largest wholesale
houses of Cincinnati, In wnich they
stated to me that they had met Brother
Ben E. Rich (for they called him
"brother") and had offered him a place
in their establishment for his head-
quarters, and that they would do all
they could to help him along. I wrote
an acknowledgment to that letter and
told them I wanted them to take good
care of him, for he was one of the no-
ble sons of God, and whatever they did
for him would indeed be appreciated by
me. I know that I have hundreds of

ELDER REED SMOOT.

staunch friends outside our Church, and
I believe there are hundreds and thou-
sands of staunch friends to the Lat-
ter-day Saints. Whenever a man goes
into the world and is not afraid to bear
testimony and speak in defense of the
principles of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, I tell you
that honest men respect such a one for
so doing'.

I desire to call the attention of the
people to a question that has come to
my notice in traveling- through the dif-
ferent Stakes of Zion, and that is in re-
gard to fast offerings. I am pleased to
state here that there are a number of
the Stakes of Zion that have no poor
within their borders, so I have been in-
formed in meeting with them; but they
have thought that, because they had no
poor, it was unnecessary for them to
collect fast offerings. To all such
Stakes I want to say that it is a re-
quirement of the Church that the Saints
observe the fast day each month and
that the food saved by abstaining from
meals that day should be given to the
poor of God's Church. If this were uni-
versally followed, there would be no one
lacking food in all Zion. The require-
ment made by the Church in relation to
fast day offerings should be adhered
to by every member of this Church. It
may be asked, What shall be
done with the offerings in Stakes
where there are no poor? I have told
the Presidents of Stakes and Bishops of
wards that in the Salt Lake Stake and
other large Stakes there are hundreds
of poor that need to be fed and clothed,
and could be with ease if all the Saints
paid their fast offerings as they should.
If the Bishops will only notify the Presi-
dent of the Church that they have an
accumulation of fast offerings he can
tell them where to send it, and it will be
put to good use. The poor people who
congregate in the large cities can be
helped by it.

While I am on this subject, I desire
to call the attention of the Bishops of
the Church to some things I have no-
ticed in regard to the distribution of
the fast offerings, which, in my opinion,
should be corrected. In one ward not
long ago I was looking upon a list of
the names of those who were helped

from the fast day offerings. Standing
at the head of the list was a man who
had never in his life paid a dollar in
any form to the Church of Jesus
Christ, and he was a man who had
been placed by the people in positions
that brought him a deal of means ev-
ery year. He lived for years in that
Stake of Zion drawing a princely sal-
ary, but forgot to pay his tithes and
offerings; and now that adversity has
overtaken him he is ready to come and
ask that the fast offerings be given to-
him, and seems to feel that he has a
greater claim upon them than some
faithful Latter-day Saints who perhaps
are suffering more than he, but who
may not call upon the Bishop so persist-
ently as he does. I believe with all my
heart in looking after the poor, no mat-
ter what their condition may be; but
I ask you Bishops and the people to first
remember those that remember God in
the days of their prosperity. I trust that
every one who asks aid from the fast
offerings will be worthy of it and will
have a rightful claim upon the offer-
ings of the people.

In many parts of the Church, espec-
ially in the outlying districts, the fast
offerings are mostly paid in flour and
produce of various kinds, and where
such is the case, I would ask the Bish-
ops to have the Deacons call upon the
people every month for these offerings,
and let them take what they gather
to a place where it will be kept and
cared for. In this way let the people
be reminded every month of the re-
quirement that is made of them. I un-
derstand that in Salt Lake City and
one or two other large towns where
they handle nothing but cash, the offer-
ings are paid at the fast meeting.
Where it can be done in this way, it is
all well and good; but in the great ma-
jority of the wards of the Church we
feel that the Bishops should see that
the Deacons collect the fast offerings.

I also desire to call another thing" to
the attention of this vast audience, and
I would that my voice could reach ev-
ery home in Utah and wherever the
people of God live. I refer how to the
practice of running in debt. I ask the
people of the Church of Christ to get
out of debt, if they are in debt; and if

26

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

they are out of debt, to stay out.Every-
body has employment now, money is
plentiful, the banks being- full of it, and
it is easy to borrow; but I ask my
brethren and sisters to remember one
fact, which is considered as much a
truth in business as any truth of the
Gospel is religiously, and that is this:
Failures are not made in times of de-
pression. In hard times men's creditors
try to make them pay up and crowd
them pretty closely, and while a fail-
ure may occur in hard times the cause
of it began in prosperous times, when
credit was easy. I a sk those who are
in debt, to get out of debt while these
prosperous times are upon us. Specula-
tion is rife in the land; men are reach-
ing out all over, and, I am afraid,
reaching farther than they can gather;
and the people here as well as in other
parts of the country need to be warned
against this tendency. I ask the Saints,
as the President of the Church asked
the Priesthood last night, to get out of
debt, and keep out of debt. I want to
say to the wives of the Church: When-
ever your husband asks you to place
a mortgage upon your home— the
shelter of yourself and children— if it
be not to save his honor, do not sign
the mortgage. If he insists upon it,
plead with him for your home and the
home of your children. Fathers, I say
to you, wherever you have a piece of
land in Zion, I trust that you will not
sell it. Do not sell your inheritance.
Do not sell the farm that you have
worked on. If you are getting old, di-
vide it up with the boys and keep them
at home. I wish that every farm in this
land was farmed as it should be, and
every corner attended to. I have often
said that if the sugar factory in Utah
county had done nothing else than to
learn our farmers how to farm, it had
proved a blessing to the people of Utah.
I say so now. I ask the farmers to
see that every foot of their land is cul-
tivated, instead of some of it going to
weeds, and then you will not have to
have your boys hunting new places and
getting from under your influence.

I ask God's blessing upon this great
multitude, and upon His Church and
people, wherever they may be upon the
face of the earth. My prayer is that

that blessing shall be upon them, in
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.
(President of the Juarez Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, during the
few moments that I shall occupy in
telling you something of the condition
of the Latter-day Saints who are lo-
cated in the republic of Mexico, I sin-
cerely desire that I may be assisted by
your faith. It is quite unexpectedly
that I am called to occupy this posi-
tion, and therefore I must depend upon
your assistance and the aid of ou r
Father in heaven.

The Latter-day Saints in Mexico are
doing the things which the Latter-dav
Saints are doing in Canada, in Mon-
tana, in Oregon, in Idaho, in Wyoming,
in Utah, and in all other places where
Lhey are established. The Gospel is the
c ame wherever we are. Our effort is,
bv example as well as by precept, to
teach the Mexican people the ways of
the Lord and convert them to the truth
Of the fact that God's kingdom has
oeen established in the dispensation In
which we live. There are in Mexico
about 12,000,000 of people, 9,000,000 of
whom are Indians whose blood has not
been intermingled with the blood of
uther people. For nearly 400 years
these Indians have been a subjugated
race. Since the conquest of Mexico,
when with the sword in one hand and
the Bible in the other the doctrines of
the Catholic church were established
among the Aztec people, that great
church has been dominant there, and
probably 95 per cent of the inhabitants
v£ Mexico are converts to its teachings.
We have not sought insistently to in-
troduce the principles of the Gospel
among the Mexican people; but b"
degrees, through the example which we
set, through our works of industry, and
through the blessing of the Lord upon
our efforts, we find it necessary to send
out missionaries and organize branches
cf the Church among them.

A year ago last June, under the di-
rection of Apostle John Henry Smith,
a mission was re-established in th<i
( ity of Mexico, since which time about
200 people have been added to the

ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.

27

Church— that is, probably 150 convert?
have been made and about 50 had a 1 . -
leady been baptized— so that we have a
very prosperous and promising- branch
of the Church there, with headquarters
in the City of Mexico.

Our relationship with the federal
government is of the most agreeable
cind friendly character. President Diaz,
whose strong character has made it
possible for him to accomplish the re-
markable reconstruction of the Mexi-
can government which has been the re-
sult of his administration, owes much
of his character, it is admitted by all
to the strong blood of his mother, who
was an Indian.

We regard with a great deal of satis-
faction the devotion that is shown by
these simple people to the principles
cf the Gospel after they receive them
They are very poor, very humble; the>
have been so long in abject servitude to
the small aristocratic minority which
Las controlled and does still control
the politics and finances of Mexico, that
the spirit of independence has to a
great degree been crushed out of them,
but they are religious. That those who
are converted have received a testi-
mony of the Gospel and the Spirit of
the Lord is evidenced by their works,
by their repentance, by their devotion
to the Elders who are laboring among
them, and by the disposition which
they show to push out into unexplored*
fields and introduce the Gospel among
their fellows.

The Lord told us in the early history
of the Church that before the great dav
of the Lord should come, Jacob shou'd
flourish in the wilderness and the La-
manites should blossom as the rose.
Tf you will carefully study the reve-
lations of the Lord to the Church, you
v. ill find that our destiny and the des-
tiny of the American Indians, who are
the descendants of Lehi and heirs to
the promises which God has made to
the house of Israel, are very closed
associated together. You will find that
before the redemption of Zion the work
of the Lord must be introduced among
the Lamanites. Christ said to His dis
cirles, when He ministered among them
upon this continent, that He would
firive them a sign by which they might

know that the work of the Father was
nbout to begin for the redemption of
all Israel and the fulfillment of every
word which had been spoken by tha
mouths of the holy prophets, and this
was the sign which He gave: "When
these things which I declare unto you
and which I shall declare unto you
hereafter of myself, and by the pow«r
of the Holy Ghost, which shall b>
given unto you of the Father, shall
be made known unto the Gentiles, that
they may know concerning this peop^
who are a remnant of the house of
Jacob, and concerning this my people
who shall be scattered by them; . . .
and when these things come to pass,
that thy seed shall begin to know these
tnings, it shall be a sign unto them,
that they may know that the work of
ti e Father hath already commenced
unto the fulfilling of the covenant
v/nich we had made unto the people
who are of the house of Israel." S«,
my brethren and sisters, as we see
the result of our labors in Mexico and
the very promising outlook there is for
the introduction of the Gospel there, we
see these words of the Lord fulfilled,
and it encourages us in the hope that
w? are nearer — as we know we are —
to the consummation of God's purpose-3
in the dispensation in which we live.

Our life in Mexico has taught us pa-
tience. They are a slow-going people,
and it has taught us to develop 'to a
neater degree perhaps than among any
oLher people the spirit of charity and
longsuffering kindness, knowing as we
do that their condition is the result of
transgression on the part of their fore-
fathers. We have learned that our
friendly relations with them and with
+hat government are largely due to the
fact that we have sought to bring
blessing where we have gone, that we
have taught kindness and considera-
tion, charity and love to the people,
and have endeavored to exemplify that
in our lives. It is not necessary to
teach resentment and retaliation; there
is enough of that in the nature of man.
The spirit of the Gospel of Christ
teaches people to overcome those pro-
pensities, and to bow in humble sub-
nvssion to the will of God. This is His
work, and He will take care of it. That

28

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

which we need to do is to be humble,
faithful and considerate of the condi-
tions of our fellows with whom we
come in contact, teaching them repent
ance from sin, teaching them love,
charity, and absolute dependence upon
God to work out this great problem.
He will do it, my brethren and sisters.
In this age of reason, of logic and of
argument the truth must eventually
prevail, and the principles of the Gos-
pel, being founded upon evelasting
truth, will triumph. We need have no
fear but that the Lord will take care
of His people.

I bring you greetings from the people
in Mexico, and assure you that our
hearts, like yours, are absorbed in the
work of the Lord; that our sole desire
is for the upbuilding of His kingdom,
the welfare of the Latter-day Saints,
and the conversion of the world. This
is cur mission, and with us more es-
pecially the conversion of the remnants
of the house of Israel surrounding us.
We owe a great deal to the Lamanites.
Whoever stopped to reflect that the
man who was sent from God to teach
the Prophet Joseph the principles of
the Gospel, and who showed him where
the plates were concealed containing
the record which, translated, was given
to the world as the Book of Mormon,
was one of the ancestors of the aborig-
ines of this continent? The Book of
Mormon came from them, and it con-
ta ns the fullness of the Gospel of
Christ as no other book does. There-
fore we feel that there is some obliga-
tion upon us to remember this down-
trodden, oppressed people, and with the
help of God to bring about their re-
demption, through obedience to the
laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
Give us your faith and prayers in this
work; we need them. We are isolated
entirely from our brethren and sisters;
we are surrounded by a strange peo-
ple, with a strange language, with cus-
toms and manners entirely foreign and
distinct from ours; but, thanks be to
the Lord, we have been preserved and
prospered, and the people are con-
tented and happy, satisfied with their
lot, and entirely devoted to the work
which has been assigned to them.

May God bless you, my brethren and

sisters, and help us all to perform oir
duties, that we may ultimately see the
triumph of truth. I ask it in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER SAMUEL E. WOOLLEY.

(President of Sandwich Islands Mis-
sion.)

It gives me joy this morning to meet
with so many Latter-day Saints. I
have been absent from the bosom of
the Church for over seven years, pre-
siding over the Sandwich Islands Mis-
sion. I have had great joy in my la-
bors with that people, and also with
the Elders and sisters who have labor-
ed with me in trying to convert them.
We have heard from Brother Ivins re-
garding the Lamanites. The people of
the Sandwich Islands are of the same
blood. They are of the seed of Israel
and great promises have been made
concerning them, if they will be faith-
ful in the latter days. We have had
success in our labors. There have been
upwards of 2,000 converted and baptized
into the Church during the last seven
years. From last April conference to
the end of August there were 300 new
members added to the Church, 110 of
which were baptized in the old district,
where the Church was first established
by President George Q. Cannon, and
t where President Smith labored in his
youth. In the place where the Gospel
was first established there are only
three remaining outside the Church to-
day. This has been a hard district for
years, but the Lord has opened up the
way, and the honest that have dwelt
there so long have been converted,
some of whom are over 80 years of age.
The other part of the mission is also
prosperous, and I feel that we are do-
ing a great labor among that people.
We have not enough Elders, however,
to do the work that we would like to
do. There are only 15 Elders remaining
in the mission, and four sisters from
Zion. But we are aided greatly by local
Elders, who are very efficient in
preaching the Gospel to their friends
and kindred. We also have in that
mission a sugar plantation, which
makes the mission self-sustaining.
That, too, is prospering, and we are

ELDER HEBER S. ALLEN.

29

building it up and making it a desir-
able home for the people who require
labor.

I rejoice this morning to meet with
the Saints and to mingle my voice with
my brethren in speaking to the people
and in bearing testimony to the truth
of this great work that we are en-
gaged in . I know that the Lord lives,
and that He has been with the Elder9
In our mission. I know that Joseph
Smith was a Prophet, and that the
Gospel is true. I know, as we all ought
to know, that we are engaged in the
work of the Lord; and if we will be
faithful in keeping His laws and com-
mandments we will receive exaltation
in the presence of our Father in
heaven.

At the request of President Smith,
Elder Woolley spoke a short time in the
Hawaiian tongue, remarking before do-
ing so that he had spoken exclusively
in that language for the last seven
years, and for five and a half years,
previous to that, during which time he
had labored at the Josepa colony, he
had been under the necessity of using
that language almost entirely.

ELDER HEBER S. ALLEN.
(President of Alberta Stake.)

I am very grateful for the privilege
of being with you, my brethren and sis-
ters. About 100 people came from Can-
ada to the conference — perhaps the
largest number that has ever been pres-
ent at such a gathering of the Church.
While I stand before you a few mo-
ments I desire an interest in your faith
and prayers, and am desirous of being
directed by the Spirit of the Lord in
what I say.

I am very young in the position to
which I have been called, the reorgan-
ization of the Stake having taken place
less than a month ago. The people in
Canada feel well in the Gospel, and a
good spirit prevails throughout all the
settlements of the Saints. Our people
in Canada have much to be grateful
for. They have been wonderfully pros-
pered in that land. The Lord has bless-
ed them abundantly; and while they
have many things to contend with that

you have not in Utah, at the same time
they have been prospered and the
blessings of the Lord have attended
them in all that they have set their
hands to do. It is now about fifteen
years since our people went into that
country; I have been there fourteen
years; and while the people of that
land looked upon us with suspicion
when we first went there they have
grown to love and honor us now, and
to seek the Latter-day Saints as set-
tlers for their vast tracts of land. One
of the first business enterprises that
our people started, about 13 years ago,
had some difficulty in getting a char-
ter to do business, for it was feared
that if we got a foothold in the coun-
try we would drive all other people
out, and it took us about six months
to get a little business incorporated
with a capital of ten thousand dollars.
It is very different today, however.
The people are desirous that we should
settle among them, and the Lord has
raised up many men, among them
some leaders of the government, who
have fought our battles in the legisla-
tive halls of that country.

A short time ago I had occasion to
visit some of the officials of the North-
west government, and they expressed
themselves very freely in relation to
the labors of our people. They said
they had not seen so much progress in
any other part of the Northwest as
they had in our part of the country.
They came through some of our new
settlements, and the progress and pros-
perity seen on every hand was truly
marvelous to them. In one of the set-
tlements just established, where fifteen
months ago not a furrow had been
plowed, this year they will raise about
150,000 bushels of as fine grain as you
ever saw. This was a marvel to some
of the officials of the government. The
Bishop of that Ward wrote me some
time ago and wanted to know what he
should do with the tithing grain, as he
had only capacity for 3,000 bushels and
he expected to receive from 12,000 to 15,-
000 bushels. I met quite a number of
officials there and they expressed them-
selves as highly pleased with the man-
ner in which our people have taken

30

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

hold of the country- I saw one gentle-
man who had labored throughout dif-
ferent parts of the Northwest Terri-
tory, on government works, and he told
his friends that he had been better
treated among the Latter-day Saints
than in any other part of the North-
west, and that he saw more evidence
of thrift and prosperity there than in
any other place. We are very glad
that we occupy this position before the
people of the country.

The Saints feel well spiritually. They
are trying to live their religion to the
best of their ability, under the circum-
stances in which they are placed; and
while some of our settlements that are
located near the mountains have suf-
fered with frosts this year, upon the
whole we have had an abundant har-
vest—plenty for our home needs and a
great deal to export. I believe that we
have the honor of being the best tithe-
paying people in the Church. I under-
stand that Alberta Stake stands at the
head. We are mostly young people out
there. There are very few old pe pie
among us. I think it would be difficult
to find 15 persons over 60 years of age.
I believe the Lord is modifying the cli-
mate for our good. We do not have
the rigorous winters that we used to
have. Our young people are well looked
after in that Stake. There is very lit-
tle sin of the graver kind amongst
them, and we are trying to the very
best of our ability to live up to our re-
ligion. As an evidence of the spirit
which exists in our Stake, I might cite
the fact that twenty or thirty people
who have been in the Church all their
lives, but have lived on the outskirts,
in mining camps, have come down this
conference for the purpose of go ng
through the Temple and being sealed
together as husbands and wives and
children.

I believe we have a very great future
before us in Alberta. The government
officials have done all in their power
to make it pleasant for us, and they
have made all the concessions that they
possibly could under the laws of the
land. We enjoy just as much fre dom
as the people of any country do, and

the Lord is blessing us. We hope in
the not distant future to have a temple
in that land, and I was very glad to
hear our President say yesterday that
it was the intention to build temples in
the outlying Stakes of Zion. I presume
that our people have spent many thous-
ands of dollars ta come down here and
go through the temples of the Lord.
When our young people get married we
like to see them start out right, but it
is a very expensive trip to come down
here to go through the house of the
Lord; and it would not take many-
years, if we could use the money that
is spent for this purpose, to build a
temple of our own. I believe that Can-
ada is a good place for people who have
not got good homes, and for young peo-
ple who have plenty of sticktoitiveness
and are filled with faith, courage and
energy; but I never have advocated
the breaking up of homes by Utah peo-
ple who are well established in order
to come to Canada. I have been there
quite a few years myself and am pret-
ty well acquainted with all the people
in the Stake, and I can say that many
young people who came with nothing
and stayed with the country are well-
to do today and trying to live their re-
ligion.

May the Lord bless us all in this
great work of His, and may He es-
pecially bless those who are called to
preside in the various offices through-
out the Church with wisdom to direct
the affairs thereof, that the purposes
of the Lord may be accomplished in the
earth, is my prayer in the r.ame of
Jesus. Amen.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

Appreciation of faithful labors — A spirit of rest-
lessness not desirable.

It may be appropriate at this mo-
ment for me to say a few words rela-
tive to the Alberta Stake of Zion. Most
of the Latter-day Saints are aware of
the fact that President Charles O. Card
was the pioneer of that country, and
for long years has been acting as the
president of the Alberta Stake of Zion.
We desire to say to his numerous
friends and acquaintances that no man

ELDER WILLIAM H. SMART.

31

who has been called to such a position
has been more valiant and faithful in
the performance of his duty, accord-
ing to his knowledge and ability, than
President Charles O. Card. He has
been indeed a pioneer, a faithful, en-
ergetic man, and has been instrumental
in laying, to a great extent, the founda-
tions of the prosperity of the Alberta
Stake. But on our late visit we found
that his health was so greatly impaired
that it became necessary to honorably
relieve him from the great responsibili-
ties of presiding over that Stake; and
I think you will all bear me witness,
if Brother Allen will continue to main-
tain the spirit that he possesses today,
we will not have made any mistake
in selecting Brother Card's successor.

I would also say that we do not de-
sire the people to get in their minds
a spirit of restlessness or a desire to
migrate from one place to another. We
would like our brethren and sisters to
remain where they are, as long as they
can consistently, and only those go to
the newer Stakes who have a necessity
to go. We desire to maintain our
foothold and to continue to establish
ourselves in the central Stakes of Zion.
We realize the necessity for this, and
we hope that the brethren and sisters
of all the Stakes will continue to abide
where they are and contend for the
success of the people in the locality
where they live. There are a few
places where our people have settled
which need no words of commendation
to induce settlers to go there, because
they plead their own cause; but we de-
sire to keep the foothold we have. We
do not intend to retrograde, or to yield
up. We believe that there has been no
mistake made in the past in forming
settlements in the south and in the
various places where our people are
located. We believe that the hand of
the Lord is in it all, and that those
who directed the locating and settle-
ment of those places were inspired by
that wisdom which comes from above.

ELDER WILLIAM H. SMART
(President of Wasatch Stake).

My brethren and sisters, I feel very

dependent upon the Lord to direct me
in the utterances that I shall make.
It has been very interesting to hear the
reports from the various missionary
fields of the world. It is gratifying to
see the work of the Lord progressing
in the earth and it makes my heart re-
joice to receive testimonies of the
same.

A year ago last February I was called
to go into the Wasatch Stake of Zion
— seventy miles from this city by rail
— to succeed President Abram Hatch as
the president of that Stake; so that I
am, comparatively speaking, an infant
in this grave responsibility, and I can
speak mostly of our good intentions
rather than the labors that have been
performed. We are 5,500 feet above
sea level, away up in the tops of the
mountains in a very beautiful valley
surrounded by the everlasting hills. In
reading of the physical structure of
Switzerland I often think that our
little valley may be compared in its
beauty to some of the beautiful valleys
of Switzerland. No doubt, this is why
we have in our valley so many good,
sturdy inhabitants from Switzerland.
Our little valley shows the hand of
hardihood, industry and privation; for
the winter months have been long and
the summer months short. There are
those in that valley who have gone
through all the privations of early life
in these mountains. Many of them
knew the Prophet Joseph Smith, and
passed through the trying scenes of
the early history of our Church, and
crossed the plains when it was but a
trackless desert. We have nine Pa-
triarchs to bless the people, and most
of these Patriarchs had the privilege
of knowing the Prophet Joseph Smith,
and their old frames vibrate under the
powerful testimonies which they bear
that he was a prophet of the living
God. We have many aged sisters
who knew the Prophet, and who went
through the early trials among our peo-
ple. We feel blessed to have so many
aged brethren and sisters still living
among us with burning testimonies of
the divinity of Joseph Smith's mission.

I desire to say that we are endeav-
oring to keep up with the spirit of the

times. We encourage our people to

32

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

remain at home and build upon the
worthy foundation laid by the men and
women who were the pioneers of that
little commonwealth. We have hun-
dreds of acres in the valley still cov-
ered with sagebrush — virgin soil which
has not yet known the plow — and our
hearts are going out in loving sympa-
thy to these untilled acres. Our hearts
are also going out to our young men
who are going to Park City, delving
in the mines for gold and silver, and
being led astray by the vices of the
world, when there are still hundreds
of acres yet uncultivated at home. Our
minds are being led to some extent on
the question of irrigation and along
those temporal lines that will assist in
sanctifying the land and bringing It
to a higher state of cultivation. In
spiritual matters we are endeavoring
to do our duty. Our Heavenly Father
has blessed me with two good counsel-
ors in the persons of Joseph R. Mur-
dock and James C. Jensen — men who
feel to give their lives to the service
of God. They have stated that if need
be all their time and means are at the
disposal of God our Eternal Father for
the upbuilding of His Church upon the
earth. We have a High Council who
are men of God. They are united with
us in furthering the interests of our
people. We have a corps of Bishops
who are leading the people as best they
can according to the ability which God
has given them. We are endeavoring
to be abreast of the spirit of the times
with regard to the quorums of the
Priesthood; but I regret to say that
in our Stake we have experienced the
difficulties which Bishop Preston spoke
of in the Priesthood meeting last even-
ing — that is, our work in the Teachers*
department is not as we would like to
have it. In the auxiliary departments
of the Church we are trying to keep up
with the rest of the Church. Speak-
ing of religion class work, the presi-
dency and High Council, and for the
most part our Bishops, are interested
In this work. We see that It will be
a mighty factor, under the blessing of
God, in distilling the principles of the
Gospel upon the minds of the youth
of Zion. We realize that we feed our
children's bodies three times a day.but
too many of us have been contented to

give them only one or two spiritual

meals a week. Therefore, many of
the youth of Zion are growing up
physically strong, but spiritually weak.
We recognize this condition in the
Wasatch Stake. In visiting some of
our religion classes, tears have rolled
down my cheeks to see little tots stand
before the class and lead their class-
mates in a practical prayer. It has
made me think of that prayer of the
Savior where He said, "I thank thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes." I have
thought of it, too, when our little chil-
dren taught the law of tithing in these
classes, have brought their nickels and
laid them, like the disciples of old, at
the feet of their teachers.

May God grant that the spirit of
progression may be in the hearts of
the people in every part of the vine-
yard of the Lord, and that we, His ser-
vants, may be equal to the great duties
that He has placed upon us. I ask it
in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER ABRAHAM O. WOODRUFF.

Establishment and maintenance of settlements —
Hand of God manifest In them— Discrimina-
tion against the Saints.

My dear brethren and sisters, I have
been very much delighted with what
we have heard during this conference,
and while I stand before you to bear
my testimony to the divinity of this
work and to say a few words I desire
your faith and sympathy and the divine
aid of my Father in heaven. I re-
joiced very much in the words of Presi-
dent Joseph F. Smith this mprning,
and I would like to call your attention
to the fact that the Prophet Joseph
Smith, many years before the bulk of
the people ever thought of coming to
these Rocky mountains, predicted that
the Saints would suffer much persecu-
tion, but that many of them would
live to come to these valleys of the
Rocky mountains and assist in estab-
lishing cities there.

I have in the past spoken considerably
regarding our new settlements, and I
want to say a few words this morning
in regard to our old settlements. I

"ULDER ABRAHAM O. WOODRUFF.

33

know that the brawn and sinew of the
older settlements have been drawn up-
on largely in order to establish new
settlements in various parts of the
country, and as a result there is a
spirit of lethargy and not of progress
resting upon the people of some of
these old settlements. The young and
energetic have gone to Canada or other
northern locations, and have left only
the aged and infirm and the non-pro-
gressive, and where this is the case the
settlements are in a state of decline. If
I were the president of a stake in
which these conditions exist, and col-
onization agents came into the stake
and attempted to draw away Bishops
and progressive men, I would demand
that they show their credentials from
the Presidency of the Church, or I
would not let them take my useful men.

I feel that in the establishment of
these settlements we have been doing
the will of God and I want to call your
attention to the fact that some of the
best blood of this Church has been
called, not to occupy the most desirable
sections of country, but to go and as-
sist in the establishment of lands to
the south which might be regarded a9
altogether undesirable. Hundreds of
thousands of dollars have been spent
and lives have been worn out in es
tablishing these settlements, and I hope
that they will never be abandoned be-
cause there is better country some-
where else. I want to tell you, in the
name of the Lord, that the time will
come when the wisdom of God
in establishing these settlements
under the direction of the
leaders of the Church, both
past and present, will be manifest, and
that He hasi had a purpose in doing it..
We did not come to these Rocky moun-
tains because it was a good, desirabla
country. We are here today because
President Brigham Young, when the
pioneers landed in this valley, said this
was the place where God designed His
people should halt. Those who wer&
looking for good countries wanted him
to go on to California, or to Oregon;
but he said; No, here is the place— very
undesirable in the eyes of men, there-
fore it will not excite the cupidity or
the selfishness of our enemies, and here

we can rest. As a result of the inspira-
tion which rested upon the Prophet
Joseph Smith in his successors, the
Saints have been established in these
nooks of the mountains. Had they gone
to more favored places.it would not have
been long before they would have been
only a drop in the bucket; but by being
placed in these crevices of the rocks
they have been able to maintain their
ground, and God has blessed the land
for the sake of His people. As I have
often said, the Lord has caused some
of His choicest sons and daughters to
go into the stakes of Arizona and Mex-
ico, where they do not raise 10,000
bushels of grain, but where they have
■gone because He has called them
through His servants to locate there,
and where they have determined to
stay though it should cost them their
lives. That is the kind of people that
dwell in those places that are consid-
ered undesirable. They may not be de-
sirable places, but they have to be built
up and maintained; and we do not
want to draw from them their best
blood and leave them in a languishing
condition. We want them to continue
to progress, to husband the water, take
care of the lands which God has given
them, and build new houses. We go in-
to some settlements and find that there
has not been a new house built in the
last five ok ten years, and all the
young and progressive element have
left to the detriment of those who re-
mained.

I am in favor of maintaining these
settlements. I am also in favor of main-
taining our foothold right here at head-
quarters, where we are new almost up-
rooted, because the country has appar-
ently become too good for us. It is
worth too much money, and conse-
quently we have sold out to those not
of our faith. Therefore, we have but
little voice in the government of our
city and in other affairs here. While
the Latter-day Saints have built the rail-
roads, and while they furnish, I am
told, about 80 per cent of the local traf-
fic of these roads, there is scarcely one
Latter-day Saint in a hundred in the
employ of these large railroad com-
panies. These matters are controlled
almost exclusively by the labor unions.

\

34

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

The contracts for our buildings, when
they are let, are controlled by com-
panies who employ union men; and a9
a result our people, who are counseled
all the time to keep out of these things,
have to take what few crumbs drop
from those who are eating the slice.
I do not think this is a good thing. "We
do not show that interest in each other
in these temporal affairs that we ought
to do. We have not as much interest in
obtaining employment for one another
in this city, take us as a whole people,
as the labor unions have for
their members. And I am in favor of
either joining the unions or else being a
union among ourselves as we ought to
be. I feel that the Latter-day Saints
are in a position to demand some con-
sideration in regard to these things,
and that we ought not to be forced to
sell our homes right here at head-
quarters because the land has become
too valuable for us. I love the little
piece of land I occupy, which was a
part of my father's homestead, and 1
have covenanted with the Lord ana
with myself that I will never part with
that, unless I have to do it to maintain
my honor, or the honor of my people,
or to buy bread for my family.

God bless you, my brethren and sis-
ters. I rejoice in the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I know that this
is God's work, and I know that we,
have a living Church, not a dead form,
for which I thank God. May the bless-
ings of the Lord be upon our brethren
and sisters who have worn out their
lives in fulfilling the missions where-
unto they have been called to build up
the great southern country and to live
in the less desirable places. They are
among the best people we have in the
Church, and God has blessed them ana
will bless them. I love them, as I love
the people of every other part of Zion.
As President Smith has said, there are
sections of our country which will rec-
ommend themselves and speak fox
themselves; but I do not think that
people ought to be drawn away from
our old settlements, to the detriment of
those places, in order to build up some
other country. I am interested in Can-
ada, in Oregon, in Big Horn, and in
every one of these settlements that

have been founded, as my labors in the
Apostleship have been exclusively in
the stakes of Zion, I think over these
things, and I am concerned regarding
the welfare of our settlements and theii
maintenance. President Smith and I
went to St. Johns, with authority to
release the people there, if they wanted
to go, and we could not do it. The
young and the old stood up and ex-
pressed their feelings; they cried, and
we cried, and we were determined that
♦we would not raise our hands to aban
don a settlement which had been es»
tablished under the direction of one of
the prophets of God. Now, my brethren
and sisters, let us think of these
things. Let us be contented. Let u»
be progressive in our own settlements,
and let us strive to love all mankind.
I thank God for the honorable men of
the earth, and for the Latter-day Saints
who are accomplishing good in this
world. I recognize in every man one
of God's sons, and in every woman ont>
of His daughters; and they are all my
friends, so far as they befriend Zion or
speak a good word for her. May God
bless us and fill us continually with the
testimony of Jesus, who died for the
redemption of all mankind. I ask it
in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER L. A. KELSCH.

My brethren and sisters, while stand-
ing before you for a short time I desire
to be inspired of the Lord to say only
those things that shall be for our good.
I have greatly rejoiced in the testimo-
nies which have been borne during this
conference. My heart has been made
glad. I rejoice in bearing testimony un-
to you, and unto all who shall read con-
cerning this conference, that I know
that the work in which we are engaged
is of God, and that He has revealed
His mind and will unto His servants
the prophets in these latter days. I
know that Joseph Smith was a prophet
of God, raised up in this dispensation,
and that he has given the mind and
will of the Lord unto the inhabitants
of the earth; that the authority which
he received from holy messengers
whom God sent to confer it upon him,
has been conferred upon brethren who

ELDER L. A. KELSCH.

35

are in this congregation, and that
these men of God hold the right and
the authority to act in the name of
Jesus Christ in all the world; that this
Gospel which has been restored in these
latter days is going to revolutionize the
whole world, and bring together the
children of men into one faith, by which
every man and woman will Know that
God lives and that Jesus is the Christ,
that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God,
and that he died as a martyr. This
work will continue to grow and increase
among the nations vof the earth. The
Lord is at the head, and He will direct
its course. Whether those of us who
have been called to labor for Him are
faithful or not, He will have men, and
plenty of them, to accomplish His
mighty purposes. I desire to be one of
those who shall be faithful unto the
end; for I realize that It Is not the re-
ceiving of great testimonies and prom-
ises that will save us, but those who
receive these great blessings are ex-
pected to use their power and strength
for the accomplishment of His purposes
and to endure faithfully to the end.

I have had the great pleasure and
privilege to be called as one o* the ser-
vants of God to carry the Gospel to
the nations of the earth, and in my
weak way I have tried to fulfill the
responsibilities which have been placed
upon me. The last mission to which
I have been called was, as has been
stated by President Smith, a mission
to Japan. I was called to assist Apos-
tle Heber J. Grant and Brothers Hor-
ace S. Ensign and Alma O. Taylor. As
you are aware, a little over one year
ago we left here for that land; and it
seemed to us when we arrived that we
were indeed strangers in a strange land,
for everything was strange unto us.
The people, their customs, their habits,
their food — all were strange. We could
not speak to the people, only through
interpreters, except to those who were
able to understand the English lan-
guage. We have in our weak way tried
to do the best we could. We have suc-
ceeded in making two converts, and we
had the privilege of baptizing them.
We might have baptized many, if we
had desired to do so; but we realized

that they did not know sufficient of this
work to justify us in baptizing them
into the fold of Christ. I believe that
there are many honest souls in that
land. There is a great people living
upon the different islands of Japan,
The Japanese are very kind, very socia-
ble, and extremely polite. I never saw
so much politeness and kindness in my
life as I have witnessed among that
people, not only with themselves, but
also to foreigners. My heart went out
to that people in love, and I had a
great desire to preach the Gospel unto
them in their own tongue; but for some
cause it has not been my fortune to do
this. I have been asked many times
if I am going back to Japan. I want
to say to you, my brethren and sisters,
that I have been released from that
mission. I was not able to preach the
Gospel in their language, but I have
preached it to thousands of foreigners
there, and to the Japanese who were
able to understand me. I visited a great
many of them and preached the Gos-
pel to them. After I found out that
my time would be short in that land, I
made it my special business to labor
among the missionaries of other
churches, preaching the Gospel to them,
trying to make friends with them and
getting them to stop speaking evil of
us. I believe I succeeded to some ex-
tent, at least, a number of them be-
came friendly, and some invited me to
visit them again, which I did. I met
men there who had visited this city, and
notwithstanding they did not agree
*vith our faith they admitted that we
had a beautiful city, and they also ad-
mitted that we could be saved as well
as them, if we would be faithful to
that which we believed.

The brethren and sisters who are
there now were feeling well when I
left. They are desirous of performing
a good mission, and remaining there un-
til they are honorably released. The
language is very difficult to learn, and
it will be necessary for the Lord to as-
sist the brethren and sisters in order
that they may acquire it. Until that i»
accomplished, I do not feel that much
will be done among that people; for

36

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

preaching the Gospel through an inter-
preter is a mistake, I believe; always
has been, and always will be, in my
opinion. This has been proven in
Japan; but we had to have some one
to talk to the people, who crowded
themselves upon us and desired to know
something about our faith. We found
that the interpreter could not translate
some words to convey the proper mean-
ing, and scholars there have told us
that it is very difficult to translate
English into Japanese. There are many
words in the English that they cannot
find equivalents for, and in order to
get them to understand our meaning
some words will have to be explained
considerably. For this reason I feel
that nothing of much moment will be
done until our brethren are able to
speak unto the people in their own lan-
guage, thereby getting close to their
spirits and warming them up by the
testimony of the truth. The people are
very anxious to know concerning our
doctrine; but whether they will receive
it after we are able to explain it unto
them I cannot tell. We can only plant;
it is God who gives the increase. Even
if they should come into the Church by
the thousands, they will have to be
humble, prayerful and diligent, or they
will be overcome, just as we have to be
diligent and careful in order to avoid
being overcome. For from the begin-
ning of this work Satan has tried to
destroy it. You remember when Joseph
Smith went into the woods to ask God
what church he should join, how the
power of darkness seized him. I be-
lieve that Satan knew Joseph Smith in
the spirit world; knew he was a
mighty man, and that he would seek
to overthrow his kingdom; and there-
fore, as soon as he went to pray unto
the Lord, he tried to destroy him, and
it was only the power of God which
saved him at that time. Then from
that time on Satan continually sought
to kill him, and finally he accomplished
it, though not until the Lord permitted
it and the time had come when it was
necessary, I presume, for him to seal
his testimony with his blood; "for
where a testament is," says Paul,

"there must also of necessity be the
death of the testator." Many of the
Saints have lost their lives for the Gos-
pel's sake, and every one of us will
have to be willing to sacrifice all that
we have, and our lives if necessary, if
we expect to receive the same blessing.
Jesus did not seek to-do His own will,
but the will of the Father. We shall
have to do the same. We must be will-
ing to do the will of God as made mani-
fest through His servants. President
Joseph F. Smith and his counselors and
the Twelve Apostles are servants of
God, and they give unto us the word
of God. We must be willing to heark-
en to that word, just as if Christ were
to come himself and deliver it; and un-
til we are willing to be governed in that
way we will not make the progress
which God designs we should make
We must be willing to be governed in
righteousness, and I want to tell you
that the servants of God do not de-
sire to exercise any influence over the
children of men only upon the principles
of righteousness and justice. Not one
of you can stand up and truthfully say
that you have ever been told by any
President of the Church, or by any
Apostle, to do anything that would not
be for your good or for the good of
mankind. I know there is safety in
being humbled and willing to be guided
by the Lord. If we are obedient, then
God will bless us. If we are willing to
be judged, we will make good judges
ourselves; but we never will until we
become subject to the power of God
ourselves.

I thank my Heavenly Father for the
privilege of going to the nation of
Japan. It has been a great blessing
and comfort to me. It has been a good
school for me. I have been taught
things there that I never would have
learned in any other place perhaps.
That experience will be a benefit to me
in the future, and I thank my brethren
who were inspired to send me to that
land, and I thank the Lord and my
brethren that I have been honorably
released. I desire to continue to labor
for Zion and her interests. I desire to
be a servant of God, to keep on bear-
ing testimony, wherever I shall be

ELDER L. A. KELSCH.

37

called to labor, whether it be In a ward
capacity or in any other direction. We
will all receive that which w e merit. I
know this work is true. I bear testi-
mony that this people are true, loyal
American citizens. We love the Con-
stitution; we love this nation; we
love its flag 1 . We have proved this in
the past, and we are able to prove it
again, should it be necessary. We love
all good, honorable men and women,
whether they are Latter-day Saints or
not, so much so that we are willing to
leave our homes and all that is dear
unto us for the purpose of carrying the
Gospel to them. We are willing to sac-
rifice our time and our means in the
interest of their salvation. However,
we should not regard it as a sacrifice.
It is no sacrifice to be baptized, when
we are converted. It is no sacrifice to
pay our tithes and our offerings, when
we are converted. So with all the prin-
ciples of the Gospel. We love to do
these things, because they bring us joy
and satisfaction.

Now, I thank my brethren for giving
me this privilege. I rejoice in the testi-
monies which have been borne. I love
my brethren and sisters, and may God
bless us and unite our hearts together,
that we may become one in Christ
Jesus, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

I would like to remark that Brother
Kelsch was honorably released from his
mission in Japan. It has been discov-
ered that it will take very young men,
and take them some years, too, possi-
bly, to master the Japanese language.
Brother Kelsch has been serving in the
missionary field for the last Ave or six
years, without any respite at all, and
it was thought that he was a man too
far advanced in years and had been
serving too long in the missionary field
to keep him in the Japanese mission un-
til he could learn that language. There-
fore, he was honorably released.

The choir and congregation sang:

Praise to the man who communed with
Jehovah!

Traitors and tyrants now fight him in
vain.

Benediction by Elder C. F. Middleton,
counselor in presidency of Weber Stake

OVERFLOW MEETINGS.

SUNDAY, OCT. 5.

Owing to the large number of people
unable to gain entrance to the Taber-
nacle during the services of Sunday
"morning, an extemporized overflow
meeting was held in the Assembly ha) J,
beginning at 11 o'clock. Apostle
Matthias F. Cowley presided. The
singing was rendered by the Temple
choir, led by Prof. Charles J. Thomas.
The speakers were Elders Benjamin
Goddard, James Iverson and M. F.
Cowley.

In the open air another meeting of
a similar character was held in the
Temple enclosure, in the afternoon, El-
der Benjamin Goddard presiding. The
opening prayer was offered by Elder
Joseph H. Felt. The speakers were:
Elders James Sharp, Reed Smoot and
George Christensen. Mrs. Lucy Smith
also delivered an address, and was fol-
lowed by Elders John McDonald, Jr ,
;>nd Henry S. Tanner. The subjects
seated were the first principles of the
Gospel, duties of the Saints, personam •
of God, women's work as missionaries
and the fulfillment of prophecy.

OVERFLOW MEETING.

Held in the Assembly Hall, Sunday
afternoon, at 2 o'clock. Elders Abra-
ham O. Woodruff and Reed Smoot, of
the Quorum of the Apostles, presided.

The choir and congregation sang,

"We thank Thee, O God, for a Proph-
et."

Prayer was offered by Elder Solomon
H. Hale.

The choir sang, "Where the Voice of
Friendship's Heard."

38

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ELDER WM. H. SEEGMILLER,
(President of Sevier Stake.)

I very much appreciate the privilege
of meeting- in this conference with my
brethren and sisters. I have enjoyed
myself very much in listening to the
remarks that have been made since the
conference began.

I desire to add my testimony unto
those of my brethren with reference to
this great latter-day work. I know
that we are engaged in the work of
God, that the Gospel has been restored
and that the Latter-day Saints enjoy
its gifts and blessings. I know that
Joseph Smith was an inspired Prophet
of God, that he sealed his testimony
with his blood and that his testimony
is now in force in the earth.

In listening to the remarks of the
brethren this morning— although I may
be but a new-comer in the Church as
compared with those who gained ex-
perience in Kirtland, Missouri and Il-
linois, where the Saints were once lo-
cated—when I came to consider that
only fourteen years of the history of
the Church had been made in Utah
when I became identified with it, I be-
gan to feel that I had been associated
with it for some time myself; and as
I think over the changes that have
come to us as a people, I also rejoice
and testify, as my brethren have done,
to the knowledge that I possess that
God has been with this community;
that He has guided them, that He has
directed and prospered them, and that
they have spread out, since those days,
until they now occupy land outside of
the realm of the United States. I know
that as we have prospered in the past
so we will in the future.

The different Stakes of Zion have
been organized that the Latter-day
Saints might acquire an education
which will prepare them for coming
events, yea, for the coming of the
Bridegroom. There is an important
question that confronts us as a peo-
ple, individually: Will we be numbered
among the wise virgins or among the
foolish ones? It is a problem that con-
fronts ever one of us, than which there
is no more important subject for our

consideration. The path of counsel, we
have been told, is the path of virtue.
Those who observe the counsel and
commandments which come to us from
time to time from those who are in-
spired and appointed to advise the peo-
ple, will be prepared to go forth when
the word is sounded that "The Bride-
groom cometh, go ye out to meet Him."

There are grand opportunities before
us, and I hope and trust that we will
improve the chances and privileges that
are ours today, that in time to come we
and our children may stand with the
people of God. When we look around
we find there are names mentioned in
the early history of the Church that we
do not hear sounded today in the
councils of the Elders of Israel. In
reading the early history of the Church
we are able to ascertain, at least in
part, the reason for this. I hope and
trust that we will appreciate the priv-
ileges that are ours; that we may have
testimonies in our hearts strong enough
to endure everything that may beset
our pathway in life; that our integrity
may be great, yea, that we may value
it more than we do life itself.

My experience thus far in connection
with this work of our Father is that
the more intently I labor to advance
His purposes in the earth the more joy,
pleasure and contentment I have. So,
if it is a matter of contentment and
joy, the way to obtain it, as I under-
stand it, is to do the will of our Father
in heaven, so far as it is made known
unto us.

May the peace of heaven continue to
be upon the Latter-day Saints; may
this great latter-day work continue to
grow and increase, and may it accom-'
plish in the earth its mighty destiny;
may we who are beginning to grow old
in the work of our Father not become
weary, but may we continue faithfully
on, doing those things that may be re-
quired at our hands, that at last we
may gain the reward which the faith-
ful are entitled to, and hear the glor-
ious words, "Well done, thou good ar.d
faithful servant; enter thou into the
joy of thy Master." I ask it through
Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.

ELDER C.

ELDER C. N. LUND,
(President of North Sanpete Stake.)

My dear brethren and sisters, my
heart is filled with gTatitude to my
heavenly Father for the opportunity
tint I have of meeting with you here
in conference. I have come here for
many years to attend the conferences
of the Latter-day Saints, held at th«
headquarters of Zion, and I have never
left one of them disappointed. The
inspiration that I have received in these
gatherings and the counsel and teach-
ings to which I have listened have beep
a guiding star to me through life.

It must be a great testimony to the
world, after having heard the Elders
of this Church announce that we have
a living Prophet upon the earth, as
referred to in the hymn this afternoon,
to ree the people gathering here by the
thousands, from all parts of this state
and from other states in this Union,
and from Canada in the north and
Mexico in the south, that they might
receive the word of the Lord. We have
rot come here to listen to man as man
speaks, but we have come to receive
the word of God through His inspired
servants, the prophets, whom He has
raised up to lead Israel in these latter
days. We have gathered here to drink
in of the inspiration of the Almighty,
that we might receive the key-words
for the future to guide us until we
shall have the privilege and oppor-
tunity of meeting here again. Such a
gathering as this proves that we be-
lieve what we proclaim: That God has
T-.vlsed up a Prophet in these last days,
and that He has ushered in the great
and glorious dispensation of the fulness
of times to prepare the way for the
coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. This
is our testimony to the world. I have
rejoiced in listening to this testimony
during this conference, as borne by the
authorities of the Church, and also by
the mission presidents, who have come
in from the various parts of the earth.
They have borne their testimony that
they know that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of God. I was very much
pleased to hear one of the mission presi-
dents say that he and his fellow-labor-
ers had been inspired to take up th:s

/

N. LUND. 39

subject in the mission field where they
v/ere laboring — to testify of that grand
rran and his mission to the earth. I
have always maintained, and still
maintain, that the most important
thing for this generation to know is
that God raised up the Prophet Joseph
Smith and endowed him with the pow-
er, authority and keys to proclaim the
Gospel to the world for the last time,
and that through him Christ's Church
was restored in its original power and
wth all its blessings. No greater mes-
sage was given to man since the days
of our Lord and Savior upon the earth
1 rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to
be numbered with you, and I thank
G'<d with all my heart that He searched
me out in the land that gave me birth
and enlightened my mind with the
truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
and that He brought me here. When
I first came here and entered the largo
tabernacle for the first time, I felt that
the inspiration of God was there. I
saw then for the first time that mighty
man who then stood upon the earth
as the mouthpiece of God to His peo-
ple, President Brigham Young. I feH
that never before, or since, for that
matter, had I heard a man speak who
possessed greater power than that man.
Although I could understand but very
little of what he said, yet I felt that
he was indeed a Prophet of God to that
generation, as well as Joseph Smith
had been. I feel that all the men who
have stood in that position since have
been prophets of God to. this genera-
tion; and I feel that the great man who
stands at the head of the Church of God
today, in whose veins flows the blood
of the great prophet of this generation,
is indeed a Prophet of God unto this
people.

May God bless Zion; may His peace
and His Spirit be and abide with us,
and may we enjoy its blessings and
its inspiration, that we may know
what to do in all things. Brethren
End sisters, we are working for a great
cause. During this conference I have
been struck with the magnitude of this
great work in which we are engaged,
it is growing and increasing in power,
and we can realize the truth of Daniel's
saying, that the little stone should, in

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

lime, fill the whole earth. It will be
accomplished, and God grant that it
may, and hasten the triumph of truth
and right in the earth, is my prayer,
in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER MOSES W. TAYLOR.

(President of Summit Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, I desire an
inteiest in your faith and prayers, that
I may be inspired to say those things
that will be for the best good of all of
us.

A little over a year ago the Prophet,
Seer and Revslator of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent
T o my office in Salt Lake City, for ma.
lie said to me, "We want you
to leave your home in this
city and go out and live in the
Summit Stake of Zion. A few day.;
afterwards three of the Apostles and I
boarded the train, and we landed in
Coalville, Summit county. When we
got there we went to a Priesthood
meeting, at which there was a fair
representation of the Priesthood of the
Stake. At this meeting these three
Apostles disorganized the whole Stake,
leaving out of office all the Bishops,
with their counselors, the High Coun-
cilors, the presidency of the Stake, and
all the other officers of the Stake. Al-
though I was a stranger in a strange
land, apparently, after the Priesthood
meeting, the same evening, before these
three brethren boarded the train for
home, they said to me, "Now, Moses, fix
it up. You have got to stay here and
fix it up."

I did not feel that I was altogether
alone; I went to the Lord and told Him
that He and I were the only officers in
the Stake now. I thought it was a good
thing to go in partners with the Lord;
He has been good partner to me — the
best I have ever had. He has blessed
me in my labors; for out there in the
tops of the mountains, on the little
streams in Summit county, I found some
of the best people I ever met in my life.
We have been trying to raise some ap-
ples out there in that cold country, and
at our Priesthood meeting, held a week
ago, we made such a fine showing that

everyone that tasted them said they
were better than any they had ever
eaten. I said the apples were like the
land, and water and the air.that every-
thing w r as good there, even the people.
With the aid of Apostle Smoot and the
inspiration of the Lord, we went
through the Stake and selected a Bish-
opric for each of the eighteen wards;
we also selected a High Council. Our
main desire in choosing these brethren
was that they should be men who set a
good example. When I went out to se-
lect counselors for myself my first
thought and my prayer to my heavenly
Father was that I might be led to men
that set an example worthy of emula-
tion. I was led to the homes of two
brethren who, with their families, w T ere
observing the Word of Wisdom and
paying their tithing. This requirement
was made of all the brethren; so, when
we got through we had men who weie
observing these principles and who
knew that Joseph Smith was a Prophet
of God. Of course, we had to take some
men who w^ere using tobacco and tell
them to stop it; and I bear testimony
to the people assembled here in con-
ference that out of the hundreds of offi-
cers chosen to preside in any capacity
in that Stake, of whom the requirement
was made, it has not been impossible
for any one of them to keep the Word
of Wisdom. Those who have been in
the habit of breaking the Word of Wis-
dom, all the way from six to ninety-two
years of age, have been able to quit
that course. They have said to me
that the Lord had taken away from
them the desire for such things. I want-
ed to bear my testimony to you with
regard to this thing, because wherever
we go among the Latter-day Saints we
find people who say they cannot quit
tobacco, or "I cannot quit tea and cof-
fee, as I would have a headache all day
long if I did," and all such excuses.
Hundreds of the people of the Summit
Stake could bear the same testimony —
that they have been able to leave off the
use of these unwholesome things and
observe the Word of Wisdom. The rea-
son they have been able to do this,
brethren and sisters, is because they
have taken the Lord In as a partner
with them. They have all said that.

ELDER MOSES W. TAYLOR.

41

with the help of the Lord, they would
do this thing.

Now, I believe that the people out
there area good people to make sacri-
fices; I can testify to this. Some people
get the notion that the ward they live
in is the only ward in the Church. We
have been endeavoring to get the people
to discard this selfish idea and to be
more liberal and broadminded.

We went after some of the Stakes
adjoining us last summer, and, with
them, got together on the water ques-
tion. We decided to aid and assist one
another in our distress. During the
dryest part of the season the people
of the lower counties sent word to the
Saints of Summit Stake asking if they
would not turn down the water. They
said they realized that it was the driest
part of the season and that the people
of Summit Stake needed the water for
their own lands, but that they felt to
appeal to them for aid. In response to
this appeal every ditch in the county
was closed for eight days, and immedi-
ately afterwards the Saints of Morgan
county did the same thing; so the peo-
ple below were blessed. Later in the
season some of the Bishops, and other
prominent men of our Stake, came to
me and said, "Brother Taylor, though
the water was taken from our lands,
still our crops are abundant. The Lord
has blessed us for our sacrifice." Breth-
ren and sisters, I tell you that where a
spirit like that is exhibited the Lord
cannot withhold His blessings.

While on this subject I should say
that grain, cows, horses, sheep, money,
and all those things, are not always
blessed. There are two kinds of
money, one kind carries with it
the blessings of the Lord, the oth-
er carries with it the blight of
the prince of darkness. A man came
to me recently and said that he had
sons who, in their youth, worked faith-
fully with him; the Lord blessed him
with means, and these sons grew up*
and became good and honorable men
in the community. "Now," said he, "I
have other sons growing up; they are
different from the first; they are un-
governable, and I can do nothing with
them." I could have told him the

cause of the difference between these
sons: When his older sons were grow-
ing up he was paying his tithes and
offerings, attending his meetings and
performing his other duties, and these
sons grew up under a good influence;
his money and increase had the bless-
ings of God UDon it. But conditions
changed. He got into trouble with
his Bishop and the president of his
Stake, and finally left the Church. His
other sons came along, but they grew
up under a different influence. They
were proud of their gain, and were
using this money, which looked the
same as the other, but which had the
blight upon it and was a curse to
them; while, on the other hand, it had
been a blessing to their father and
their other brothers. May the Lord
add His blessings to all, which I ask
in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Elder Melvin J. Ballard, of Logan,
then sang a solo, the choir joining in
the chorus.

ELDER JAMES W. PAXMAN.
(President of Juab Stake.)

My beloved brethren and sisters, I
feel very much in need of your faith
and prayers and the assistance of the
Spirit during the few moments I shall
stand before you this afternoon.

I deem it a great privilege to have
the opportunity of meeting with the
congregations of Israel in general Con-
ference, and to hear the voice of in*
spiration, which has been sounded in
our ears not only during this glorious
conference, but also during the con-
ferences that have preceded it. I was
thinking, in listening to the remarks
of Brothers Seegmiller and Lund, that
it had been my good fortune to meet
with the Saints in Conference ever
since I was a boy in my teens. I have
not missed a conference of the Church,
since my boyhood, except when I was
out of the state. In\hese Conferences
I can truthfully say that I have felt the
influence of the Spirit of God. This
conference has been no exception to
the others in this regard; if there is
any difference, I think I see more vigor

42

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

and strength in the testimony of my
brethren at this Conference.

I rejoice to know that we live in a
day and ag-e of the world in which
the Gospel has been fully established
in the earth in its primitive purity and
grandeur, with men inspired of God and
raised up to take charge of His work
in the earth and to direct His people
aright. I feel grateful that it has been
my lot to have the still small voice in
my soul, so that the cry of the shep-
herd has found a response. I felt thank-
ful to hear the testimony of Apostle
Reed Smoot this morning, when he
said he felt that he was in accord with
those that presided over him, and all
the members of the Church, as well as
the principles and doctrines of the
Gospel. I thought that was a most
happy state to be in. I feel to join
with him in the joy and pleasure ex-
pressed by him in this glorious testi-
mony. L. too, feel that the Lord has
been kind to me and has been my
friend. I know that He will be an ever-
lasting friend to the children of men,
inasmuch as they seek unto Him with
full purpose of heart, and no one will
seek Him in vain. I rejoice in the
principles of the Gospel, because I see
in them the virtue to redeem this fallen
world. I rejoice in the testimony our
Elders are able to bear, and are bear-
ing, to the nations of the earth. I
feel grateful and proud that the same
spirit possesses all our Elders and mis-
sion presidents abroad in the earth. I
rejoice that the Spirit of the Lord is
being shed forth upon His people and
that they are being made glad because
of its effulgence. I feel that there is
an abiding growth with the members
of the Church; that those active and
interested in the work are growing
stronger and more firmly fixed in the
faith; that the Church and kingdom
of God has been established in the
earth never to be thrown down or given
Ho another people. I feel grateful that
it has been my lot and privilege to be
born and reared in Zion; that the
Lord has given unto me a good pa-
rentage; that my father devoted his
life, time and talents, as well as his
means, to the building up of the king-
dom of God; that he was willing to

make sacrifices for the Gospel's sake.
Though the world may consider as a
sacrifice what he did, yet it was no
sacrifice to him.

I feel to testify to the words of my
brethren, that those that pay their
tithes and offerings will be blessed
of the Lord. The blessings of
heaven are more to us than the bless-
ings of the earth. My admonition
to the people lately has been not to
measure the blessings of our Father
in heaven by dollars and cents. If
adversity comes upon us, as it has in
our section of the country, on account
of the continued drouth, and we are
short in our crops, we should not at-
tribute the shortage to a curse of the
Lord; but, rather, we should feel grate-
ful to the Lord for the Gospel and for
the many blessings that we enjoy. 1
feel that the hand of God is over us
when we are chastened and reduced in
our jonditions, for then we are more
humble and prayerful and devoted to
the work of God.

I feel proud of the little stake of
Zion over which it has been my lot to
preside, Four years ago this month my
father met with an accident, and gave
up the ghost shortly afterwards. Not
long after I was called to preside over
the stake. I can truthfully say that wt
have had pleasure in our work there.
Now, Brother Moses W. Taylor has told
you of the goodness of the people of his
stake and of the valor of the men that
are associated with him. I can testify
to like conditions in the Juab stake. I
do not know of two better men in the
whole stake than those who are asso-
ciated with me as my counselors; and I
can say the same as to the High Coun.
cil. We are all united, and are paying
our tithes and keeping the "Word of
"Wisdom. The auxiliary organizations
of the stake have never been in a bet-
ter condition than they are new in.

I testify to you that I know that Jo-
seph Smith was and is a Prophet of
God. I do not know this simply be-
cause my parents have told me so or
taught me this, as President Ben E.
Rich, of the Southern States mission,
said yesterday, but I know it through
that Spirit that comes from above, to
which we are all entitled, providing, of

ELDER JOSEPH MORRELL.

43

course, that we are living- right. I
testify to you in all soberness, recog-
nizing that I will have to meet my tes-
timony before the judgment bar of
God, yet I testify that, as I knew tht,
sun would rise this morning when 1
saw the danvn of day approaching ovet
the eastern horizon, so do I know that
the Savior is coming. The Lord has
said that He would come and dwell
with His people a thousand years and
instruct them in His word, and that it
would be a reign of peace. I kno-w
these conditions are coming; the Spirit
of God, through the voice of inspiration,
distills on my soul this great truth. 1
feel to rejoice that the Lord has given
me this testimony, which came to me
•as a shaft of light, filling my whole
being and fastening me to the rock of
truth. May God enable us to endure to
the end and receive His blessings, is
my prayer, in the name .of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH MORRELL.
(President of Cache Stake.)

I have only one desire, my brethren
and sisters, in standing before you at
this time, and that is that the Spirit of
the Lord will direct me in what I shall
say, that we may be mutually edified.

I have a testimony of the Gospel,
which I bear to you this afternoon. I
have always taken pleasure in uphold-
ing and sustaining the testimony that
God has given me that Joseph Smith ib
a Prophet of God, and that he was
raised up in these latter days to bring
forth the dispensation of the fulness ot
times, and that he was an instrument
in the hands of God in bringing forth
those principles that are the power of
God unto salvation. What desires 1
have had so far in life have been swal-
lowed up in the testimony that I have
received of the goodness of my Hea-
venly Father to me.I have been willing,
in my ■weak way, to answer the callss
that have been made of me, and there-
lore am I here this afternoon.

In lisiening to the testimonies thai
were borne this morning, I was think-
ing over xhe changes that had taken
place in the Cache Stake of Zion since
I have been connected with it. Our

stake ustd to be about the largest in
the Church, extending from Paradise,
in the south, to Cardston, Canada, in
the north; but, piece by piece it has
been divided up, and new stakes form-
ed. To jay our stake is about ten miles
long and eight or nine miles wide. But
if our stake is small it is pretty thick-
ly settled, and the people are good.
They desire to do what they can to as-
sist in building up the kingdom of our
Father upon the earth. I can testify
to you, my brethren and sisters, that
my counselors, and the High Council of
the stake, and all the other authorities,
are faithful and energetic men. Our
stake has contributed some of its best
young men to assist in building up
other stakes of Zion. Two of the
brethren who spoke this morning
were reared in our stake. They
are now presidents of other
stakes of Zion. The land has
been taken up and so utilized that,
in the past, it has been hard for our
young men to get a home in our sec-
tion of the country, as under the con-
ditions that prevailed then it required
quite a large farm to bring in anything.
But, through the blessings of the Lord,
we now have a sugar factory and the
land can be utilized to greater advan-
tage and profit, and, in consequence, we
are enabled to keep our boys and girls
at home. The girls go out in the field
and help with the beets, which I think
is a great blessing to them, as they can
thus get plenty of fresh air and exer-
cise. They are growing up puny; they
are not as strong as their mothers
were, who bore the heat and burden of
the day. It will be a good thing for
them to get out a little instead of sit-
ting so much in the house.

We have no very rich people in our
Stake, as the farms are small; but some
of the Saints are quite well to do.
Since the beginning the land has been
divided into small parcels, and there is
not much chance for any one to own
large tracts of land, as our Stake is so
small. The last few years we have
taken hold of manufacturing a little,
as well as the raising of beets, and we
have so divided our interests that if we
should fail in one pursuit we would
have another to fall back on.

44

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

We have continually counseled the
people to keep out of debt. It has been
our experience, in associating- among
the people, and in our own lives, that
if we can get a few dollars ahead, and
pay the tithing on it, and thus get the
blessings of our heavenly Father to at-
tend our investments, that that money
went much farther than the money we
borrowed, upon which we had to pay a
high rate of interest. It nas been truth-
fully said here this afternoon that
money and the accumulation of wealth
is not the only blessing that God has
in store for us. He has said that if we
neglect to pay our tithes and offerings
our names will be taken from the rec-
ords of the Church, and the names of
our children as well. I would rather lose
every dollar and every piece of prop-
erty that I possess than to have this
calamity come upon me. Christ gave
this parable unto His Disciples:

"The ground of a certain rich man
brought forth plentifully:

"And he thought within himself, say-
ing, What shall I do, because I have nc
room where to bestow my fruits?

"And he said, This will I do: I will
pull down my barns, and build greater,
and there will I bestow all my fruits
and my goods.

"And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou
bast much goods laid up for many
years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and
be merry.

"But God said unto him, Thou foo 1
this night thy soul shall be required of
thee: Then whose shall those things
be, which thou hast provided?

"So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God."

I feel well, my brethren and sister •.
I do not know what I ever did that the
Lord should be so kind to me. I have
Leen a weak instrument in His hands
and have endeavored to put my trust in
Him. I pray that His Spirit may be
with us all, that in the end we may be
saved in His kingdom. Amen.

ELDER 'GEORGE C. PARKINSON,

(President of Oneida Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, I have lis-
tened with much pleasure to the re ■
marks of the brethren during this con-

ference. I rejoice in the testimony of
my brethren, and that I have the privi-
T ege of associating with the Latter-day
Saints at these meetings.

The Oneida Stake is located in the
northern part of Cache Valley, in the
State of Idaho. It was organized over
eighteen years ago, with eleven wards
and about 3,000 souls. Since that time
many changes have taken place. The
people increased in number as the pos
Abilities of the country became better
known. We had a large tract of
:and, and as the country was built up
other wards were organized and several
new Stakes were made. As the Stake
exists today we have seventeen wards
a id a population of about 6,000 Latter
oay Saints. The presidency of the
Stake are united and are laboring in
hf rmony with each other. The mem-
bers of the High Council of the Stake
are good men. They all keep the Word
of Wisdom, I think, and are devoting
their time and attention to the minis-
try. They meet once a month, as a
High Council, and attend to any busi-
ness that may come before them. Most
of them visit the various wards of the
Stake on Sundays, and also on othe'*
days, keeping up the organizations anJ
encouraging the Saints in the work of
T he Lord. I believe the wards are all
thoroughly organized, and that the
Bishops and their Counselors are all
ifood, exemplary men, actively engaged
in the midst of the people. We try 'o
impress upon them the necessity of
looking after those bearing the Lesser
Priesthood, that they might be trained
and prepared for higher and greater re-
sponsibilities as they grow in years and
faithfulness. I believe the quorums of
lhe Priesthood are pretty well taken
care of. Of course, we also have some
who are negligent and careless, as m^y
be found in other Stakes and organiza-
t.ons of the Church. Our Seven-
ties are nearly all active men,
engaged in the ministry. We ca!l
them into service as home mission
aries, to labor with the Elders and
High Priests, in connection with the
members of the High Council of the
Stake, and they are seeking to edify
the Saints and to encourage them in
their duties.

ELDER GEORGE J. CANNON.

45

I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, in
the testimony which the Lord has giv-
en to me. I know that God lives and
that Jesus Christ is His Son and the
Redeemer of mankind. I know that
Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, and
that he was raised up of God to estab-
lish the Gospel of Jesus Christ upon the
earth for the last time. He delivered
the message, and it has gone forth to
the nations of the earth, and it shall be
proclaimed to all nations, kindreds,
tongues and peoples upon the face of
the earth. I know that Brigham Young
was a Prophet of God, and that he was
raised up to lead the people of God
from the land of their persecutions and
drivings to this promised place in the
tops of the mountains, according to the
will of God, made known through His
Prophet Joseph Smith. I also have a
testimony that John Taylor was a
Prophet of the Lord, loved of God, and
that he labored devotedly in the minis-
try for the establishment of the work
of the Lord. I can bear the same tes-
timony as to President Wilford Wood-
ruff and President Lorenzo Snow, who
were good and noble men, and Prophets
of God. I know that, today, we have
to preside over the Church as Prophet,
Seer and Revelator, a noble son of God,
one recognized of the Lord as His ser-
vant to preside over His Church in all
the world; that these brethren who are
associated with the Presidency of the
Church, the Apostles, whose labors call
them to the several Stakes of Zion and
the different parts of the earth, are the
servants of the Lord. I know that they
enjoy the revelations of the Holy Spir-
it, and that they are special witnesses,
traveling among the people and bear-
ing a faithful testimony to the divinity
of the work of the Lord as restored
and established in our day.

My desire is to go onward and up-
ward, and to do what little 1 may be
able to do, under the blessings of the
Almighty. I desire not to grow weary
or to become discouraged, but I feel like
lifting up my voice in defense of the
truth and the establishment of right-
eousness in the midst of the people.

I am associated with a good people,
who are devoted to the work of the

Lord. We have an excellent school in
our midst, at which within a month
from now, perhaps, we will have about
fifty young men engaged in the mis-
sionary class, preparing to go into the
world and proclaim the Gospel. We
have organized our auxiliary associ-
ations, and they are presided over by
men and women who are devoted to
the work in which they are engaged.

In listening to the testimonies of
Apostles Smoot and Woodruff this
morning my heart warmed within my
bosom, and I thank God for such men.
I thank Him that His inspiration has
been poured out, and is now being
poured out, upon these young men, who
have been called to this active posi-
tion in the ministry. They are men of
God, and I know it. I have associated
with them to quite an extent during
the past few years, and I know that
they are true, genuine, and faithful,
and that they live in the love and con-
fidence of God, and that His blessings
are following their ministrations in the
midst of the people. May God bless
them, and all who are engaged in His
glorious cause, that it may spread
abroad through the earth; that the
honest in heart may be gathered out
and assembled in the tops of the moun-
tains and in other places appointed of
the Lord for the gathering of His peo-
ple, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

Brother and Sister Ferrin of Ogden
sang a duet.

ELDER GEORGE J. CANNON.

My dear brethren and sisters, it was
a great surprise to me when Brother
Woodruff called out my name; it was
the last thing I expected. Neverthe-
less, I can testify to you, as I have to
my brethren and sisters and others,
when the opportunity has presented it-
self, that I know that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ has been restored to the
earth again, and that we are the recip-
ients of its blessings. Before leaving
for my mission to Germany, I, with the

46

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

rest, received instructions, and we were
told that if we could not say anything
else in arising to speak to the people,
we were to bear our testimonies and
something would come to us. There-
fore, in addressing you this afternoon
I begin with bearing my testimony. My
brethren and sisters, I have a testi-
mony, and have always had it, that the
Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. If we
take the scriptures and compare the
Gospel taught therein with the Gospel
taught by the Latter-day Saints, we
find that they are the same; that the
Gospel taught by the Savior and
His disciples in former days is
identical with that taught by the
Latter-day Saints. Those of us who
have had the privilege of preaching the
Gospel in the world have had numerous
testimonies given to us, which have
strengthened us in the testimony that
we already possessed. I believe there
is not a young man who goes out into
the world to preach the Gospel that
does not possess a testimony, although
he may say he does not have one. He
may not be aware of the fact, but the
testimony is there just the same; it
is born in him and only needs some-
thing to bring it out. We find that
our young men, some of whom may
have been careless at home, when they
have reached their missionary field
and, perhaps, have been put in charge
of some branch, or placed to preside
over a conference, and are obliged to
explain the principles of the Gospel and
to study them, are surprised and as-
tonished to learn that they have had
a testimony of the Gospel but did not
know it. I would advise the young
brethren and sisters to become ac-
quainted with this testimony before
they go on their missions, because
they will then be just that much fur-
ther ahead, and they will be better
prepared to explain the principles of
the Gospel. We are told, in the 130th
section of the Doctrine and Covenants,
a passage that I love to quote, that
"Whatever principles of intelligence we
attain unto in this life, it will rise with
us in the resurrection;

"And if a person gains more knowl-
edge and intelligence in this life
through his diligence and obedience

than another, he will have so much the
advantage in the world to come.

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed
in heaven before the foundations of this
world, upon which all blessings are
predicated;

"And when we obtain any blessing
from God it is by obedience to that law
upon which it is predicated."

This should be an encouragement to
us as Latter-day Saints — that through
our obedience in this life,if we are more
industrious and studious than another
in seeking knowledge, we will have that
much the advantage of him in the
world to come. I trust that we, es-
pecially the young and rising genera-
tion, upon whose shoulders the further-
ance of the kingdom of God, rests, will
sense and appreciate the importance
of this principle, and that, through our
diligence, we will advance to a high de=*-
gree of perfection.

I pray that the blessings of our Heav-
enly Father will rest upon us. I testi-
fy to you in all soberness and humility
that we are engaged in the work of
God, and that, if we are faithful in the
performance of our duties, He will
bless us. I can testify that the law
of tithing and the Word of Wisdom
are true principles. I have always ob-
served the former principle, and have
also kept the Word of Wisdom; I was
taught to do so by my parents, and I
appreciate the blessings to be derived
therefrom, for I have experienced them.
May the blessings of our Heavenly Fa-
ther rest upon us all, I ask it in the
name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

ELDER REED SMOOT.

How to get out of debt — Economy a righteous
principle — Admonition to save wheat.

Perhaps the greater number of the
people here this afternoon were in the
Tabernacle this mottling, when I spoke
upon the subject of keeping out of debt.
Since that meeting a brother has asked
me how to keep out of debt, and there
may be quite a number of this congre-
gation that would like to ask the same
question. Brethren and sisters, I can
tell you in a few words how to get out,
and how to keep out of debt; it is in-

ELDER REED SMOOT.

47

deed simple and is this: Stop the waste
that so many people are practising-,
save a little every day from your earn-
ings, and it will not be long until you
are out of debt, and if you will do this
you will never get into debt. I consid-
er it is a sin in the sight of God to
waste anything that He has created,
either in its original state or changed
by the labor of man. The uld saying
"Waste not, want not," is just as true
today as it ever was. It is gratifying
to read the history of the different na-
tions and learn that many great men,
by their personal examples and lives,
demonstrated that they were enemies
to waste in every form. In reading of
Dante, who was the most radical
against waste in his day, we find that
he classifies the spendthrift in the same
circle as the miser, thinking the mirer
would surely go to hell and the spend-
thrift would be his close neighoor.
Dante had the Middle Age idea of hell,
not knowing the limited number of
crimes that will keep a man there
eternally. By revelation, we know that
the only crimes man will be placed in
hell for is committing the unpardonable
sin, knowing the Christ and then deny-
ing Him; or shedding innocent blood.

Man never will go to hell for saving
means, even if miserly. No man ever
lived that looked more carefully into
household expenses than did George
Washington, the father of our country.
Many of his servants thought him
penurious, and that he should give at-
tention to greater matters, not be look-
ing after small things and petty sav-
ings. My brethren and sisters, there
are many who look upon a man that
saves as stingy, and think that he is
thus doing a wrong, but I assure you
that is not true. I have always insist-
ed that under all circumstances and
conditions economy is necessary. You
will find that it is necessary in every
condition of life, whether the man be
a millionaire or the humblest and poor-
est soul that walks the face of the
earth; economy, not in dollars and cents
only, but it also relates to the use of
time, one of God's gifts that He will
hold us all responsible for. Watch ev-
ery expenditure, and see that nothing
is wasted. I remember reading an inci-

dent in the life of Carlyle, the man who
said he overcame the two jailors of the
human family — "low birth and an iron
fortune," — proving that he was indeed
an economist. One day he was cross-
ing a street in one of the large cities of
Scotland, with a companion, and stoop-
ing down picked something from the
mud. He stepped to the sidewalk, ai;d
brushed the mud from a piece of bread,
laid it on the curb, remarking to his
friend that it might do a dog or bird
some good. , I want to say, my brethi-:n
and sisters, that the great Scotchman
was an enemy to waste, and his life
was an example of economy. He was
taught by his mother never to waste a
crumb of bread, said he, "mother im-
pressed me with the fact that bread
was to man what the mind is to the
soul." I am indeed thankful that the
mother who gave me birth taught r. >e
that principle, and I earnestly wish
that every Latter-day Saint had it im-
pressed upon them so they will prac-
tise economy in their lives. Not long
ago I was in one of the stakes of Zion,
and a young man complained to me
how hard it was to get along financial-
ly. He asked me to go home with him
to dinner. I did so. On going co the
back of his residence after dinner, I
found enough good food thrown into a
swill-barrel to feed another family; and
yet he was wondering why he could not
make ends meet.

In the early days of Utah, the voice
•of President Brigham Young rang out
warning the people to be saving, and
not waste anything that God in His
goodness had given them. I say the
same to you, with all my heart; and I
wish our people would stop and think
about it, and use the intellect that God
has given them. I tell you, if they
would do this there would be less suf-
fering from poverty among us. I was
in the north a couple of weeks ago,
and saw trainloads of wheat being
shipped from the state. What does this
mean? It means, if not stopped, that a
great portion of the amount of wheat
being shipped at the present time may
have to be brought back into Utah, and
the people thus have to pay freight
charges going out and coming in, and
a middleman's profit besides. Farmers

4s

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

of Utah, is this the way to do? Why,
no! How often have we heard the
Prophets of the Church, in times past,
tell the people to store their wheat. Just
as sure as we live the time will come
when we will wish we had followed that
advice, and stored at least enough to
last us from one harvest to another.
Brethren and sisters, for your own
sakes, save enough wheat and keep it
on hand so that we can have bread
stuff in case of any unforeseen contin-
gency that may arise.

Suppose a great strike had occurred
on all the railroads of the United
States last year, every wheel tied up,
and every avenue for carrying freight
to this intermountain country had been
stopped, either by strike or through any
other cause, in what condition would we
have been? Do you know that flour
and wheat were shipped last year into
Sanpete county, once called the gran-
ary of Utah? Do you think that such a
thing could have happened if the Saints
were following the advice of the Proph-
ets of God? No, never! I ask the peo-
ple to remember this, for I tell you, in
the name of J.esus Christ, you will see
the wisdom of it some day. God wants
His people to be prepared for the com-
ing judgments. Peace be to you all, 1
ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

ELDER ABRAHAM O. WOODRUFF,

Blessing-i In disguise — Dogo.nl to all mankind. —
Forbearance to the Ignorant and wayward.

My beloved brethren and sisters. I
tried to handle a subject this morning
in five minutes, and there are about two
minutes left this afternoon. I wish to
say just a few words, and I will try
to get through in time for us to get out
of here by 4 o'clock. I not only believe
in beginning our meetings on time, but
in quitt'.og on time as well.

Many sections of the country nvhere
our people are located have been suf-
fering greatly through drouth during
the past few years. I have thought over
this condition a great deal, and have
come to the conclusion that, for my
part, I feel to thank God for the drouth
as well as for the many blessings which
He tends to us that are not in disguise.
If it had not been for the grasshoppers,

crickets and drouth in early days the
Latter-day Saints would have been
crowded out of their strongholds and
places by those who would have de-
sired to locate in our communities.
Now, I can see the hand of God even
in these trials, which come to us as
blessings in disguise. Those Latter-
day Saints who have faith in God will
outwear the drouth and live to see
their lands become fruitful, while those
who are weak-kneed, who possess little
faith, will be driven out by the drouth.
Only those who are true to God and
determined, through their faithfulness,
to call down His blessings upon them,
will bf there to see conditions change
and their land become fruitful again;
for it will become fruitful again just
as sure as the Lord lives.

Now. our mission, brethren and sis-
ters, is to all mankind. We have heard
much good instruction during this con-
ference, and it will be of great benefit
to us if we will put it into practice.
Let us not be selfish and feel that it
is our duty to devote our life and time
to our immediate family circle and our
friends and favorites only. We, as
Saints of God, who have received the
Gospel of +he Lord Jesus Christ, must
be broad enough to let our life extend
to all mankind. It does not lessen that
Avhich we have to bestow upon our fam-
ily and loved ones to extend a hand
to all mankind, to those who are not
of our faith; for there are many hon-
orable men and women who have not
been abie to see as you and I see. There
is a place for every one. There
is a place for the young people who
have been born of Latter-day Saint
parentage who have no testimony of the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a
mistake, when we see young men and
young women who do not have a testi-
mony of the truth, to point them out
and say. or feel, that they have com-
mitted some moral evil and, as a con-
sequence, have no testimony that this is
the work of God. Those who possess a
testimony of the truth have reason t.o
be thankfdl indeed, for what a glori-
ous thing it is. and how unhappy and
uneasy are those who do not possess
such a testimony and who are in doubt
regarding the Gospel and the existence

ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.

49

of God and the atoning blood of oui
Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. We
may fell thankful, my brethren and sis-
ters, that we have this testimony, and
we ought not to point our fingers at
those who have no testimony and feel
that they are to be condemned on this
account. Probably the circumstances
of their rearing differed from ours;
probably the Gospel has never been
presented to them with such force and
spirit and in such plainness as it was
to us. I realize that the Lord told His
liEciples to go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature,
and that those who would repent and
be baptized r-hould be saved, and those
who believed not should be damned;
but it is the Lord's business to damn
5r to bless His sons and daughters and
lot mine or yours. The Lord has
commanded this people to forgive all
nen for their trespasses, and He would
iorgive whomsoever He would. Re-
nember this in your troubles and dif-
iculties in your dealings with your fel-
owmen.

May the spirit of this conference and
)f this meeting go with you to the
lomes of the Saints, and may we be
nore determined to serve God and keep
His commandments; I ask it in the
lame of Jesus. Amen.

The choir sang, "But in the last days
t will come to pass."

Benediction by Elder Nephi L. Morris.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The choir sang the anthem: "The
mountain of the Lord's house."

Prayer by Elder Hugh S. Gowans,
president of Tooele Stake.

The anthem, "Praise the Lord, all ye
nations," was sung by the choir.

ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.

ATords inspired by the Holy Spirit are Scripture-
Need for giving heed to such words— Callings
in the Priesthood must be magnified— Willing
obedience.

I have greatly rejoiced in the spirit
)f this conference. We are assembled
lere, a mighty host of Israel, gathered
ogether from all parts of Zion. We
lave with us the First Presidency,

members of the quorum of the Twelve
Apostles, the presiding Patriarch, the
Seven Presidents of Seventies, the pre-
siding Bishopric. We have Patriarchs,
High Priests, Seventies, Elders, bear-
ers of the lesser Priesthood, and mem-
bers of the Church in great numbers,
who have come up to wait upon the
Lord. The heathen would say per-
haps: "We have our gods before us.
We can see and feel them, and we fall
down and worship them. But where is
your god?" The answer is that our
God is not far away, and certainly He
is not beyond the bounds of time and
space; but He is a God who hath ears
to hear, eyes to see, and a mouth with
which He can speak to His people.

We may get a general idea of the
character of this work and of this great
general conference by the revelations
of God which have been given to us in
this age of the world. Upon one occa-
sion, in speaking through the Prophet
Joseph Smith to Oliver Cowdery, the
Lord said:

"If thou art led at any time by the
Comforter to speak or teach, or at all
times by the way of commandment un-
to the church, thou mayest do it.

"But thou shalt not write by way of
commandment, but by wisdom;

"And v thou shalt not command him
who is at thy head, and at the head of
the church;

"For I have given him the keys of
the mysteries.and the revelations which
are sealed, until I shall appoint unto
them another in his stead."

Upon another occasion the Lord said:

"Hearken, O ye my servants! Ye are
rot sent forth to be taught, but to teach
those things which have been put into
your hands by the power of my spirit;
and ye are to be taught from on high.

"Sanctify yourselves, and you shall be
endowed with power that ye may give
even as I have spoken."

Again, the Lord in a revelation to Or-
son Hyde, speaking of the manner in
which the Gospel should be preached to
the world, said:

"And behold, and lo, this is an en-
sample unto all those who were ordained
unto this Priesthood, whose mission is
appointed unto them to go forth;

"And this is the ensample unto them,
that they shall speak as they are moved
upon by the Holy Ghost.

"And whatsoever they shall speak
when moved upon by the Holy Ghost,
shall be scripture, shall be the will of
the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord.

50

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

shall be the word of the Lord, shall be
the voice of the Lord, and the power
of God unto salvation.

"Behold, this is the promise of the
Lord unto you, O ye my servants."

We can see by this, my brethren and
sisters, how great is the responsibility
resting upon us in this important con-
ference. If the Presidency of the
Church and others who may be called
upon, shall arise before the congrega-
tions of the Saints and speak by the
voice of the Comforter, it is the will of
the Lord unto us, and we are in duty
bound to receive it. How much will we
be benefitted by assembling together?
Just so far as we lend a willing ear to
the counsels which are given. During
the conference possibly many princi-
ples of interest and importance will be
touched upon. The law of tithing has
been mentioned here; you may hear
something further in relation to it. Is
there need of such instruction? Verily
there is. I presume there has not been
a general conference convened for the
last 60 years at which this principle has
not been alluded to, and specific in-
structions given the Latter-day Saints.
I grant you that there are many in the
Church who are honest with the Lord,
and who come up to the spirit of the
law; but there are many who do not
pay a full tithing— many who sit under
the voice of the Priesthood, which is
the mind and the will of the Lord, and
go straightway from the meeting or the
conference and fail to give heed there-
to. It may be that the Word of Wis-
dom will be touched upon, and the im-
portance of its observance set before
the people. Is there need of this? Will
somebody ask why is this principle
again spoken of. Verily, it is not the
word of man; it is the word of God to
His people; and so long as it goes un-
observed by any number of the Latter-
day Saints there is need to speak of it.
It may be that a word or two of coun-
sel will be given in relation to magnify-
ing the Priesthood. Is there need of
such word? I ask the High Priests.
Seventies, Elders, and the lesser Priest-
hood, is there need of something being
said concerning the authority and pow-
er and sacred character of the Holy
Priesthood? You know that there are
many who disregard the Priesthood;

many who fail to attend their quorum
meetings, and consequently fail to catch
the spirit of the Priesthood. Only about
fifty per cent of those who bear the
Priesthood are faithful in attending
their quorum meetings, which have
been appointed by the Lord, under the
counsel and direction of the First Pres-
idency of the Church. The brethren of
these various orders of the Priesthood
should meet together often, to bear
testimony one to another and to be in-
structed in their duties, that they may
exercise this sacred power for the salva-
tion of souls. If any man or woman
enters into the celestial kingdom of
God, it will be by and through the au-
thority of the Holy Priesthood. If we
do not hold that Priesthood, and mag-
nify it, we cannot pass by the angels
and the gods. It may be that a few
words will be said by some of the
speakers in relation to the quorums of
the lesser Priesthood. Words of in-
struction were given last night relative
to them. The orders of the lesser
Priesthood are v_ery necessary and im-
portant in the Church, very needful to
its welfare, and placed there by the God
of heaven. This is the Church of God,
not our Church, and who are we
that we shall rise up and say that these
quorums of the lesser Priesthood are
unnecessary, and that we have too
much Priesthood? It is God who has
established the Priesthood, and set its
bounds and limits. Something may be
said in relation to the acting Teachers
of the Church, who are called to act
as Teachers in the lesser Priesthood.
The ordained Teachers are usually
young men from fourteen to eighteen
or perhaps twenty years of age, who
are not of themselves quite qualified to
go out and teach the families of the
Saints? Hence men are called to be
acting Teachers, whose duty it is to
take these young men with them in
their visits to the people, that they
may gain experience and become quali-
fied to perform the functions of their
office. If there is any duty neglected in
the Priesthood, I think you will find it
among the acting Teachers of this
Church, who in many places fail to
meet this responsibility.

There has been no lack of instruction
and counsel, from the days of thi

ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.

51

Prophet Joseph Smith until the present
time. Twice a year in these general
conferences, four times a year in the
Stake conferences, once a year in the
ward conferences, and then in the
Sacrament meetings, the Priesthood
meetings, and on other occasions, in-
struction, full and complete, covering
the whole field, has been given to the
Latter-day Saints. But I often think
that some of us are like the people of
ancient Israel— we are slow to hearken
to the voice of the Lord. We acknowl-
edge His hand; we admit the import-
ance of these things, and see the ne-
cessity of them: but in many cases fail
to carry out counsel, and thereby lose
the blessing. I give it to you as my
candid judgment that the great suc-
cess which attended the ministry of
Jesus Christ was due to His strict obe-
dience to the will of the Father. I
fancy that He sought to teach that les-
son in all His life— almost by every
word He spoke and everything He did.
He was constanly striving to impress
upon His disciples that He came not to
do His own will, but the #.ill of the
Father who sent Him. Do you not re-
member that even at the age of twelve,
when but a lad, upon one occasion he
was separated from his parents. They
searched for him with great anxiety,
and finally discovered him in the temple
at Jerusalem, disputing with the
learned doctors. His parents chided
Him for what appeared to them an act
of disobedience in leaving them with-
out their knowledge, and He turned
and said, "Wist ye not that I must be
about my Father's business?" Even
at that tender age the spirit of obedi-
ence manifested itself, and He gave
His earthly parents to understand that
He was there to do the will of the Fath-
er. When He came to the waters of
Jordan to be baptized, John the Baptist
forbade Him, feeling that he was not
worthy to baptize the Savior. The Sav-
ior said, "Suffer it to be so now: for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all right-
eousness." In other words, to render
obedience to the will of the Father. He
who was without sin and without guile
went down into the waters of baptism,
and when He came up out of the water
the heavens were opened and the Holy
Ghost descended upon Him in the form

of a dove ; and a voice came from the
heavens, saying, "This Is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased." Why
was the Father well pleased? Because
of His obedience; because of His wil-
lingness to do that which was required,
even though it seemed not to be neces-
sary. Again He was willing to be lifted
upon the cross. Did He not say to the
Father, "O my Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
not as I will, but as Thou wilt?" And
did He not thus fulfil the will of the
Father by His sufferings on the cross?
Afterwards He ascended into heaven,
and now sits upon the right hand of
the Father, glorified, the Lord of life,
the Savior of the world a perfect ex-
ample of obedience! And should we not
therefore follow His example, resting
as we are under the great responsibility
of having rceived the word of the Lord
in relation to the various duties re-
quired at our hands? How strict is the
commandment of God! Are we not
told in the language I have quoted,
that the President of this Church is
endowed with the keys of the myster-
ies, and of the revelations which are
sealed; but is there time at this confer-
ence to talk upon the mysteries? No;
we must talk upon the practical things,
especially those which are neglected by
the Latter-day Saints. Then when the
next conference comes we shall doubt-
less have to talk about the same things,
again and again, because of our for-
getfulness and our mortality. The
President of the Church holds the keys
of the revelations which are sealed.
Have you forgotten, my brethren and
sisters, that part of the plates from
which the Book of Mormon was trans-
lated are sealed, to come forth in the
due time of the Lord? Is this the due
time of the Lord? Can we expect that
these plates will be unsealed and these
mighty revelations brought forth, un-
less we accept and carry out in our lives
the commandments which have been
unsealed and transmitted to us in the
Book of Mormon, in the Book of Cove-
nants, and in the Holy Bible — these
glorious books which are before us, and
which should receive our attention and
our study, that we may become ac-
quainted with the commandments of
the Lord and observe to keep them, that

52

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

we may prepare ourselves for the
great revelations which are to come,
and which will come, as the Lord lives.

I rejoice in these things. I know that
this is the work of the Lord. I know
that His hand is in it, and that His
power is with us. I have seen it mani-
fested upon many occasions. I have
received many testimonies of the truth
of this work. I cannot deny it and
never will so long as the Lord will
bless me with His Spirit and the power
of the Priesthood. It is the work of
God; and all who give heed to it, and
who go down into the waters of bap-
tism and are baptized for the remission
of their sins, have hands laid upon
them for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, and continue faithful, will re-
ceive a knowledge of this work, and
shall know, as I know and as you know,
that it is the work of the Lord. May God
bless you and prosper you abundantly,
is my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

Charles Kent rendered, with excellent
effect, the beautiful hymn of which the
following is the opening verse:

my Father, Thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place!

When shall I regain Thy presence,
And again behold Thy face?

In Thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside;

In my first primeval childhood.
Was I nurtured near Thy side.

ELDER ANDREW KIMBALL.
(President of St. Joseph Stake.)

1 rejoice this afternoon, my brethren
and sisters, in this opportunity, and
deem it an honor to my sacred father's
name and to my sacred mother's name.
I feel it an honor to the Indian Terri-
tory and Southwestern States Mission,
with which I became so intimate, and
to the Stake that I now have the hon-
or to preside over.

It takes me nearly two thousand
miles travel to visit with you in con-
ference, and it is my pleasure to gain
all the information possible to take
back to our people in the St. Joseph
Stake, and they shall hail with delight
my return to receive the word of the
Lord as it has come unto us through
the servants of God in these meetings.
I indeed feel embarrassed to take up

this valuable time, and if others feel as
I do they desire to get the word from
the fountain head; but we do appreci-
ate the recognition of our Stakes and
Missions, and we know that this is go-
ing to redound to the good of the
Church; for the people will feel com-
plimented and will be strengthened in
consequence of this remembrance.

The St. Joseph Stake of Zion is situ-
ated in the southeast corner of Arizo-
na, adjoining Old Mexico and New
Mexico. If you were to ride across
Arizona, on the north, from Albu-
querque, New Mexico, to California,
you would see nothing but desert and
tops of mountains among the timbers,
and on the south along the Southern
Pacific railroad nothing but sand hills
and desert; but leaving the railroad,
in a little oasis in the desert, you will
find a happy people, nearly 4,000 Latter-
day Saints, over whom I have the priv-
ilege of presiding. It seems that the
Lord has preserved these choice little
spots in the desert for our people. They
could not be seen by the travelers go-
ing to and from California; but they
were found by our people who were
sent by President Brigham Young in
early days. I will here say that those
who left Utah in early days by team,
did not find the promised land. They
journeyed into Arizona, and, becoming
discouraged, many of them returned
home. There were some who had cour-
age to remain and "hold the fort," and
they have continued to increase, until
today in that arid district of Arizona
we have four good Stakes of Zion.

I will say to you that we appreciate
what has been said by the brethren in
regard to the restless condition that
exists among some of our people. There
have been many inducements thrown
out by some of these northern Stakes
to draw people thither, and we ask you
brethren of these Stakes to keep your
hands off. We are happy and content-
ed down there, and we do not want to
lose our people. The trouble is, you are
drawing away the financial men, the
men of strength and character, whom
we need ourselves. There are, how-
ever, a number in our Stake that we
would like you to have. We are liv-
ing in a desert.Every foot of the ground

ELDER ANDREW KIMBALL.

53

is sandy desert, and were it not for the
water that is brought upon it by irri-
gation, it would still be a desert, and
when the water is taken off it becomes
a desert again. But it is one of the
most fruitful spots on earth. Possibly
you have heard some of my stories
about big sweet potatoes, the large
shocks of corn, the thrifty growth of
trees, and all that; but they are true,
nevertheless. While I was in St. Paul
this summer, representing Arizona in
the Trans-Mississippi Congress, I had
the pleasure of telling something of the
resources of Arizona, lest those people
in the rainy districts might think they
had it all. After I had told them that
we had grown a sweet potato weighing
37% lbs., there was a Missourian yawn-
ed, got up and went out. You know,
the Missourians have to be "shown."
A Texan came up and congratulated
me, and said to the convention, "Texas
has held the fort in all these conven-
tions up to the present day, but now
we'll give it up to Arizona; we can't
beat the sweet potato."

We bring the water from the Gila
river and carry it over the sandy soil,
and with the warm climate we can
produce anything on that soil.. We
have already dispensed with our early
crop of Irish potatoes, and are now
eating sweet potatoes from the same
ground. I remember a short time ago
seeing a beautiful field of grain, con-
taining possibly forty-five bushels to
the acre, and just as I left there was
good-sized corn standing on the same
ground.

Now, we do not want you people of
Oregon and Canada to get excited and
come rushing down, for there is not
room for you.

We have a Latter-day Saint schcol
established in Thatcher, the attendance
sometimes running as high as 220. They
come in from the surrounding country,
and are trained in the Gospel as well
as the various branches of education.
It was my privilege to be in tb° 1 gis-
lature two years ago, and while there
I secured the passage of a bill giving
to the Academy the National Guard,
and now we have the largest National
Guard in Arizona, and will get the
regiment band soon. The governor, I

want to say, is very proud of his "Mor-
mon" boys. Recently it was my pleas-
ure to visit him and talk with him
about our country. He wrote me and
asked me to go and see him. I called
on him on my way home from St. Paul,
and reported my trip in the interests
of the Territory, and he was very much
pleased. He wanted to know all about
you good people, all about our organi-
zation, etc. He took me to dine with
him, and his wife, a very amiable and
nice lady, was there also. While there
he desired me to get information from
th other Stakes of Zion in Arizona in
regard to our people, and I did so. The
Arizona people are broadminded and
liberal. They are not hurt with religion,
however. We have no trouble from
the outside churches. Occasionally a
little upstart comes in from the east
and undertakes to uproot our people,
but he can get no following. Not leng
ago a wealthy Jew— Mr. Solomon— af-
ter whom the county seat is named,
had some relatives and friends visit
Salt Lake City, and they were kindly
entertained on these grounds. They
spoke to Mr. Solomon, and he was very
much interested and desired to visit
Zion himslf. They told him he must
try and get into the Temple, and he
said he would get a recommend from
President Kimball. Sure enough, he
came to Thatcher with the company
and introduced them to me, and said,
"Brother Kimball, I want a recommend
to go to the Temple." "Well," said I,
"Brother Solomon, I'll tell you how you
can get there. Baptism by immer-
sion for the remission of sins — and I
know you need it— will let you through
the door. Then you can take your
wife along, if she will repent, and you
can have her married to you In the
right way." I went into the store and
wrote out a nice recommend to Presi-
dent Lorenzo Snow, and he brought it
up here, and President Snow enter-
tained him for four hours. He came
back and bore testimony throughout
our country concerning the grand old
gentleman at the head of the "Mor-
mon" Church. He said he was the
cleanest, nicest man he ever saw.

Many good things have been said of
us there. Last winter, while visiting

54

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

in Tucson, one of our largest cities,
Senator Ives, president of the last leg-
islative council, asked me to dine with
him. In the evening I joined him and
his wife, and after they had put their
lovely little family to bed, we com-
menced talking upon Mormonism. I saw
they were interested, and for four
hours I explained to them the rise of
this Church, told them of the Prophet
Joseph Smith in his boyhood, of the
establishment of this work in the earth,
of the exodus of the people across the
plains, of their establishment in the
Rocky Mountains, and explained to
them in detail the organization of the
Church. Occasionally I asked them if
I was not tiring them but they would
say no, go ahead, Mr. Kimball, it is
immensely interesting. When I reached
the point of divine authority, then the
good lady, who is a devoted Catholic,
said, "Now, I have it. Some time ago
there were two Elders left some tracts
in our home, and I told our Protestant
people that they were not in it a bit
as far as authority was concerned, for
it rested either with ourselves or the
Mormon people." I replied, "Yes, that
is where it rests. You people claim
the literal descent, but we claim that
the Gospel was taken from the earth
and restored again through the Proph-
et Joseph Smith." Thus our conversa-
tion ended.

This is the principle upon which we
act down there; we treat the outside
world right, and they treat us right.
As Apostle John Henry Smith said to
me, "Andrew, we are not out of the
woods yet;" and sometimes I think
that his policy of kindness is the safest
policy to win friends. I have not for-
gotten a lesson taught me by our ven-
erable brother, Apostle Franklin D.
Richards, when I was in the Indian
Territory Mission. He said, "Brother
Andrew, if you can do nothing more
than to win friends unto the Gospel of
Christ, you are doing a good work; for
the honorable of the earth will have a
much better opportunity than we can
imagine — greater than many of those
who have received the truth and not
lived up to it."

Brethren and sisters, Arizona is all
right. We have a song, composed by

one of our people, called "Arizona — the
sun-kissed land." I wish now that I
had sent it up here for Brother Steph-
ens to have the Tabernacle choir sing
it; for I want to tell you, it is good
enough even for the Tabernacle choir.
I was raised in Salt Lake City. These
dear old streets and almost every nook
about the city are familiar to me, and
I love the people here with all my
heart. My wife's folks and my folks
are here. My wife said she had trem-
bled all her life lest she might be sent
into Arizona, and it seemed to me that
was my condition, too. I went down
there, in obedience to the word of the
Lord, with a feeling of gloom and des-
pondency hanging over me, and when
President Joseph F. Smith set me apart
he blessed me that I might not become
despondent.

I want to say to you that since I have
been there I have not had time to be
despondent. Arizona is the sun-kissed
land, the home of the cactus and of the
Gila monster. I am satisfied with my
home there. I say, God bless Ari-
zona; God bless her people. God bless
those people that have had nerve and
courage enough to stay down there and
hold their homes; and you people up in
these more favored districts, keep your
hands off. God bless you all. Amen.

ELDER WILLIAM T. JACK.
(President of Cassia Stake.)
My brethren and sisters, I need not
say that I am delighted at this oppor-
tunity of meeting with you in another
general conference of the Church. For
many years it was my lot to live in
Salt Lake City, the place of my birth,
and when conferences were being held
it was not an unusual thing for me
to be engaged in the avocation of life;
but as time rolled on and my place of
residence has been changed to one of
the remote settlements in our neigh-
boring State, I have come to appreciate
the blessings of the Gospel, and the
gatherings of the Latter-day Saints in
which they come together and listen to
the voice of the servants of the Lord,
and receive that spiritual food which is
calculated in its nature to strengthen
and brace them up.

ELDER WILLIAM T. JACK.

55

It is a little over two years since the
call came to me to remove into Cassia
county, Idaho, the gem state of the
Union. I am thankful to say to you
that long years ago, from my parents
and through the inspiration of the Al-
mighty, I was taught the lesson of
obedience, and I take pride today in
saying that whatever word has come to
me from the servants of the Lord, I
have been willing to accept it cheerful-
ly and to accomplish the work intelli-
gently, so far as my ability would per-
mit. I removed to the north and suc-
ceeded that venerable old pioneer, Hor-
ton D. Haight, in the Cassia Stake. I
found there a delightful place to live.
The climate is similar to that that we
have in Salt Lake City. The district is
new.and the possibilities of the country
are immense. Lying out in the valley to
the northwest of where our little city
is situated there are 250,000 acres of
as good land as can be found any-
where outside the valley of the Nile,
and all we require in that district is
the blessing of the Almighty and more
water. We are waiting now for the
hand of the artisan and the mechanic,
and for the means of the millionaire,
to come and assist us in taking the
water out of the mighty Snake river
and carry it upon that vast tract of
land.

In our religious work I feel very
much encouraged. I think I can see
a steady and constant growth on the
part of the people. In the labor to
which I have been called I am abund-
antly blessed with the association of
two stalwart, faithful, tried and true
men, Elders John L. Smith and Wil-
liam T. Harper, and with their aid,
counsel and encouragement we are la-
boring for the advancement of the
work of the Lord in that held. We re-
joice in the thought that good is being
done. We also are blessed with the
presence of a Stake academy in our
lcality. At the present time we have
over 100 of our young men and women
enrolled in that institution.and they are
receiving that education which is cal-
culated to prepare them, not only for
the duties of life, but for the eternity
before us.

I rejoice in the work of the Lord. I

have rejoiced exceedingly in the testi-
monies that have been borne by our
brethren, and I have thought that it
must be exceedingly discouraging to
our enemies who have looked for the
overthrow of the Gospel from the day
of the assassination of the Prophet
Joseph Smith until the present. When
the Prophet Joseph Smith was among
the people they thought he was the
power of Mormonism, and they said
among themselves that if they could
destroy him, Mormonism would go
down. They accomplished their de-
sire, but Mormonism lived and flour-
ished. When President Brigham Young,
that noble leader of pioneers, came
upon the scene, and he led the people
to this wilderness and planted their
feet firmly upon this land, they again
thought that if Brigham Young were
disposed of Mormonism would die. The
time came when that venerable leader
passed away; still the Lord had pre-
pared another to take his place. Men
have looked from time to time for the
leader of the people to pass away, in
the hope that the religion of the Lat-
ter-day Saints would then come to
naught. But in this Conference we
have seen a new generation, young men
of faith, and of most promising futures,
upon whose shoulders some day will
roll a portion of the responsibility of
this great work. While this must be
most encouraging to President Smith
and his counselors, to the Twelve Apos-
tles and our leading brethren, it must
be very discouraging to our friends who
have waited and hoped all these long
years for the downfall of Mormonism.

I pray that the Lord will bless us,
and that He will inspire us to be faith-
ful and to be charitable to our enemies,
remembering the words of Malachi the
Frophet, who, in speaking of the wicked
makes the statement that the day will
come that shall burn as an oven, when
all the proud, and they that do wicked-
ly, shall be as stubble. "The day that
cometh shall burn them up, saith the
Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them
neither root nor branch." I think we
can safely leave the wicked and all
their evil machinations unto the Lord:
for that day will most assuredly come
that shall burn them up, saith the

56

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Lord. "But unto you that fear my
name shall the sun of righteousness
arise with healing- in his wings; and ye
shall go forth, and grow up as calves
of the stall." Therefore, brethren and
sisters, be encouraged in good works.
Put upon yourselves the whole armor
of righteousness, do your duty, yield a
faithful and implicit obedience to the
counsels that are given you from time
to time, and I promise you today that
the power and peace and blessings of
the Almighty shall rest upon you;
your streams shall increase, your bor-
ders shall be lengthened, your bounda-
ries shall be strengthened, and you will
see the hand of the Almighty manifest
in your deliverance in these troublous
times, because just as sure as the an-
gel has flown through the midst of
heaven bearing in his sacred charge
the everlasting Gospel and has restored
it to the earth, just so sure are we liv-
ing in the hour of God's judgment.
Therefore, I say unto you, my breth-
ren and sisters, be faithful to your-
selves, and faithful to the trust that
has been reposed in you, to the Priest-
hood, to the Father and to His Son Je-
sus Christ, whose blood was spilled on
Calvary's hill. May we be humble and
diligent in the performance of every
duty, and may the power and blessings
of the Almighty rest down upon the
Prophet of the Lord, who stands at
our head. May he be filled with power,
with wisdom, and with every gift neces-
sary for his high and holy calling, and
may his brethren who are associated
with him constantly hold up his hands
and help him to accomplish the pur-
poses of the Lord. I ask God to bless
Israel in all her abiding places, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER S. R. BENNION.
(President of Uintah Stake.)

T deem it a great pleasure to have the
privilege of assembling in this place
and mingling my voice with the Lat-
ter-day Saints. It has fallen to my lot,
from my birth to the present time, to
always be associated with the Latter-
day Saints, and I hope that it will ever
be my lot. I pray that I shall enjoy
the Spirit of the Lord suffi-

ciently to enable me to endure faith-
fully unto the end, and to be true to
the trust which is committed to me
from day to day. It is only by con-
stant labor and training that we shall
secure to ourselves an exaltation in the
celestial kingdom of our Heavenly
Father. The prize is not to those who
run swift for a few years, but it is to
those who will endure unto the end,
and I hope that we will all be enabled
to endure to the end. I realize that we
will be called upon to meet trials. Tt
is written that the Lord is going to
have a tried people. He will have a
people that will serve Him and keep
His commandments. Therefore, I look
to be tried in all things. If I have not
had trials they will come along soon
enough; but I hope to be able to endure
them.

It is my pleasure to preside over tbe
Uintah Stake of Zion, which is situated
in the northeast corner of our fair
state. We live in a goodly land. I
suppose our Heavenly Father design id
us to be there. Many good people live
in that Stake of Zion, although there
are some who are restless, wanting lo
go to the north or to the south. I re-
member a brother who resided the^e
years ago. He had one of the finest lo-
cations in the valley, but wanted to go
down where Brother Kimball is.
"Whether Brother Kimball has him yat
or not I don't know. He was anxious
to go where he could raise five crops
of lucern a year. In our country he
could not take care of two, so that I
do not know what he will do down
there. It is better for us to be content-
ed with our lot, and try to do our duty
in all things; and if we do this we will
be. greatly blessed of the Almighty. The
earth and the fulness thereof belongs
to the Lord, and He has said that He
will give it to whomsoever He will.
He has promised to bless His people
and to pour out His spirit upon them,
if they will keep His commandments.
I expect to enjoy every blessing that
I live for. Every Latter-day Saint will
enjoy everything he or she is entitled
to.

I pray that peace and prosperity may
attend the labors of the Latter-day
Saints, and the labors of the servants

ELDER FRANK Y. TAYLOR.

57

cf God who are directing the affairs
of His kingdom upon the earth. I feel
satisfied with my brethren who are
placed over me in the Holy Priesthood
T am satisfied with those who laboi
v/ilh me in the Uintah Stake of Zion —
my counselors, the High Council, and
the Bishops. The only thing that I am
fearful of is, am I doing my duty from
day to day? If I am not, my Heavenly
Father and my brethren who are placed
over me will hold me responsible. I
can bear my testimony in regard to
this work. I know that it is of God.
I know that Joseph Smith was a pro-
phet of God, and that those who have
succeeded him were prophets. I know
that we have prophets and apostles to
l^ad and guide the affairs of the king-
dom of God upon the earth today. May
God add His blessing. May we be
humble before Him from day to day,
is my desire and prayer in the name of
jesus. Amen.

ELDER FRANK Y. TAYLOR.
(President of Granite Stake.)

My dear brethren and sisters, I es-
teem it quite an honor to represent the
Stake over which I preside. 1 am also
happy in the thought that when they
selected me to preside over a Stake of
Zion they did not send me down to
Arizona to raise big potatoes or up to
Canada to raise large fields of wheat,
but they let me stay right at home in
Salt Lake county, almost on the bor-
ders of Salt Lake City. I am delighted
to say that the people in our stake are
a good people. We have able men who
are endeavoring to live their religion,
and all organizations of the stake are,
I believe, practically up-to-date in their
work. The presidency of the stake has
been loyally sustained by tne people.

I was very much interested and im-
pressed last night with the talk that
Bishop Preston gave to us in regard to
the training of our youth in the Les-
ser Priesthood. It appears to me that
as the Priesthood and presiding officers
in the Church we ought to pay a little
more attention to the proper training of
our boys and girls, particularly the
boys in the lesser Priesthood. I believe
the future strength and growth of this

great people and the work of the Lord
depends largely upon the proper train-
ing of our young people. I believe that
it is the duty of presiding officers in
the Church to see that there are no
Deacons neglected in the Church. We
ought to be sure, as Bishops of wards,
that we have the organizations of the
Deacons' properly perfected. If we
take hold of them at the right age
and see that they attend their meetings
and are trained properly in the duties
assigned to them, I believe we will have
less trouble to organize our Teachers'
and our Priests' quorums. I think we
ought to begin young with the boys,
nurse them along kindly, and try to
implant within them a testimony of
the faith that we have espoused. We
ought to put them to work; teach
them to act as doorkeepers in
our meeting houses, to open the door
when people come in and to act
as ushers in taking the people to their
seats, and showing them to the front,
so that the late-comers will not have to
pass a crowded place at the back to
get to empty seats in the front. I tried
this when I was a boy. I remember that
of all the duties I had to perform in this
Church, there is none that has given
me greater pleasure than to act as a
Deacon. The Bishop of the ward where
I grew up used to honor the Deacons
in their place. We had to look after the
door and to seat the people in their
places. He honored us in our positions
to the extent that he expected people
to conform to the rules of the house
and to take the seats we assigned them.
We had a trial of that down in our
stake the other day. We had a confer-
ence of the Lesser Priesthood, and I
believe it was one of the most profitable
meetings we have ever neld in our
stake. In that meeting we gave the
boys a practical illustration of their
duties. We had Deacons that had been
previously trained stationed at the
door, and no boy was allowed to open
the door. The door was opened for him
very courteously and nicely, and as he
stepped in the vestry a Deacon tapped
him on the shoulder and led him to a
seat in the proper place. We instructed
them that they were to take the seat as-
signed them. We had places for our

8

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

Bishops and High Councilors, and the
Deacons knew just where to take them.
During 1 the meeting- one of our Bishops
came in late. He had been accustomed,
I presume, to take any kind of seat he
wanted; but I had instructed the Dea-
cons that it would make no difference
whether it was a Bishop or myself, they
were expected to assign the seats. The
Deacon and the Bishop walked up the
aisle, and the Deacon had got clear to
the stand before he noticed that the
Bishop had taken a seat of his own
choosing. Then I had to get up and re-
mind the Bishop that we expected him
to honor these boys in their place. I
believe we ought to honor our Deacons,
and encourage them in the start, so
that they may grow up to understand
the duties pertaining to the Priesthood,
and not have to wait until they are
twenty years of age and then have to be
humiliated, when they want to get mar-
ried or something of the kind, be-
cause they have to go through the order
necessary for them. I thank the Lord
we had a Bishop that took hold of me
when I was a little fellow and trained
me in the duties pertaining to the Les-
ser Priesthood, because if there is any
strength in me it is due to the training
that I received when a little boy. I
think this is the time we ought to start
in matters of this kind.

There is another thing that is lack-
ing: at least, it is with us. It seems to
me that there ought to be in every
ward, where possible, a quorum of
Priests, a quprum of Teachers, and
they ought to be active in the perform-
ance of the duties pertaining thereto.
If we get these quorums thoroughly or-
ganized and attending to their duties,
we will not have much trouble with act-
ing Teachers. The great trouble is, the
Bishops cannot get the Teachers to do
their work; but if we get the boys
started early and train them aright, we
will have little trouble in regard to this.

There is another matter that appeals
to me very strongly, and that is the
welfare of the youth of Israel. I love
the youth of Israel, and I feel that as
Latter-day Saints we are not giving
them the close attention that we oughi
to in the way of missionary work, and
nurturing them, and getting them to

forsake the little evil practices they in-
dulge in by holding out a better life
and light unto them. We are so busily
engaged in the duties of life that we do
not stop to think that there are some
who need an arm thrown around them.
They need someone to love them, some-
one to nurture them, and give them a
chance to reform. I heard of a case
recently that will illustrate this, of a
boy who had lived in a settlement all
his life. Nobody had paid any attention
to him; they had taken it for granted
that there was no good in him. But a
stranger moved into the settlement, and
he liked the appearance of the boy.
He put his arm around him
and in kind words asked him if he
had not better repent; that there was
a better chance for him in the fold of
the Church of Jesus Christ than on the
outside. The boy turned to him and
with tears in his eyes thanked him for
the interest he had shown in him by
putting his arm around him and speak-
ing kindly to him. He said, "You are
the first man that ever did that to me
in my life. I have lived in this set-
tlement all my life and it has been the
rule almost to point the finger of scorn
at me; but never has it occurred to
any of them to come up and say a kind
word as you have done." That boy
turned round and is now a faithful, hon-
orable young man in the Church. The
trouble is, we are so busy that we take
it for granted that our boys who some-
times make mistakes have no good in
them, and we do not go out of our way
to put our arms around them in love
and teach them the principles of the
Gospel. We ought to preach the Gos-
pel of Christ at our firesides, and in
the homes of our neighbors. There is
plenty of opportunity in these valleys
of the mountains to preach the Gospel,
and to bring the wayward back again
into the fold of Christ. Here is op-
portunity for all of us: Blessed is the
father and blessed is the mother whose
family is all around them and living
their religion, and making no mistakes!
That father ought to rejoice that he
has such a family, and he ought to feel
warm towards the less fortunate father
who has a family that he has no con-
trol over. He ought to put his arm

ELDER MATHIAS F. COWLEY.

59

around his neighbor's children, and
with the talent he has exercised in con-
trolling his own family try to use an
influence with them. Do not let the
boys go to the four winds, simply for
the lack of doing our duty in this re-
gard. I have said it before and I
will repeat it here, that lots of us will
go out into the world to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ without asking
any questions. "We will have door af-
ter door slammed in our face; and if
opportunity will present so that we
can pour into the ears of the people
the good things of the Gospel we are
delighted. After awhile, if we can
lead them down into the waters
of baptism, we rejoice exceedingly that
we have converted someone. We do
not specially ask them about their past
or what they have been doing. All we
ask of them is to repent of their sins,
go down into the waters of baptism,
and have hands laid upon them for the
reception of the Holy Ghost. Yet oft-
times we will come back home and we
would not cross the road to preach the
Gospel to some of our young boys right
here. I believe I will be safe in saying
that if we would expend one-tenth of
the energy and time and means, one-
tenth of the patience and love, that we
give to the children of the world, in
the interest of our own wayward boys
at home, we would save many more
souls. We could love our boys more
than we do; we could have more pa-
tience with our girls than we do have.
We could spend more time around our
own firesides, teaching the children the
principles of the everlasting Gospel, in-
stead of going after the things of the
world and letting the boys go to the
winds. As fathers and mothers, we
ought to be more careful in regard to
the rearing of our youth. We should
make home the most pleasant place
that the boy or girl can find in this
whole world. It ought to be the cen-
ter of attraction to every child. We
should make it so attractive by our
kindness, our love, and all necessary
conveniences, that they will love it bet-
ter than any other place. I believe it
would do good sometimes to sell a calf
or a horse in order to place good books
in the home for our boys and girls to

read. Subscribe for the works of the
Church, so that they can read the prin-
ciples of the Gospel and have them im-
planted in their hearts. Then let us
take some time to sit down by the fire-
side with them and explain unto them
the Gospel.

Brethren and sisters, I love the youth
of Israel. I know that there is good in
them. If the coal looks dead, it reeds
someone to blow the bellows to bring it
back to life again. I have found boys
who have been looked upon as no good
and practically dead, but with nursing
and effort that coal has been brought
back to life. And what happiness
comes into the home when a wayward
son turns over a new leaf and becomes
a good, upright Latter-day Saint! I re-
joice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I
bear my testimony to its truth. I know
that the Prophet Joseph Smith was a
prophet of God. I know that the proph-
et that we have presiding over us today
is a man of God, and sets an example
in his family that is worthy of all Is-
rael. God bless you. Amen.

ELDER MATHIAS F. COWLEY.

Difficulties to be settled privately, If possible —
Presiding authorities should not be appealed
to unnecessarily — Honor every man in his
position.

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice
very much in the teachings of this con-
ference, and in the way that President
Smith has been led to conduct the con-
ference. I would like to say to the
Bishops that it is a good example for
you to follow. It is impossible for the
work of the Lord to be carried on by
the intelligence of man, or by any pre-
meditated arrangement carried out in
a mechanical way. As the President of
the Church has been led to conduct our
conference, so ought every Stake Pres-
ident to conduct his Stake conference,
and every Bishop to conduct his ward
conference, as well as his meetings in
general. I do not mean by that that
you should follow it in mechanical de-
tail, but that you should follow the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit; for this
is what has been done during this con-
ference, as it has no doubt in the con-
ferences of the past.

60

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

We rejoice to hear the testimonies of
our brethren who preside over the
Stakes. I rejoice to be associated with
men such as they are; and if I were
as sure of my salvation as I am of the
salvation of such men as have stood
before us this afternoon, I would be
exceedingly delighted. They are men
of God, and we who live in the Stakes
of Zion ought to look to these men for
counsel, and not, when we have diffi-
culties to settle, always run to one of
the Twelve Apostles, or to one of the
presiding Council of Seventies, when
they are in the Stake. We ought to
settle our troubles right in the Ward
where they occur, and there ought to
be a more strict observance of the law
of God in regard to the adjustment of
difficulties. Where there are differences
between brethren and sisters, they
ought to try and settle them in the way
indicated by the Savior — between them-
selves, in the spirit of prayer; not with
a determination to show how wrong
your brother is, but in the Spirit of
the Lord seek to be reconciled with
your brother. If this will not accom-
plish it, then call in the Teachers of
the Ward, and let them act as peace-
makers; for blessed are the peacemak-
ers. And when the Teachers find a
difficulty in a family, they have no bus-
iness to tell it to anybody else or to
circulate it on the streets. They ought
to guard such things with the utmost
sacredness.

The Lord has laid down His law on
this subject, as well as on all other
subjects affecting the welfare of the
Church. In Section 42 of the Book of
Doctrine and Covenants, it is written:

"And if thy brother or sister offend
thee, thou shalt take him or her be-
tween him or her and thee alone; and
if he or she confess, thou shalt be rec-
onciled."

That is, it shall not be harped upon
or talked about after it has been set-
tled. Every man ought to esteem him-
self as put upon honor, after a difficulty
is settled, not to stir it up or resur-
rect it among the people of God, but
let it be settled forever. When Teach-
ers find difficulties existing in families
that they can settle without reporting
them to the Bishop, it is not a duty in

the sight of God that the Bishop even
should know of them. In fact, I do not
suppose the Bishop wants to know the
failings of the people, if they can be
rectified without his knowledge. The
Lord has laid down the doctrine that
the confession shall be as broad as the
offense. If I offend my brother, I must
make it right with my brother; and it
is hypocrisy to go and ask the forgive-
ness of God until I have become recon-
ciled with and made restitution to my
brother. The Lord says:>

"If any one offend openly, he or she
shall be rebuked openly, that he or she
may be ashamed. And if he or she con-
fess not, he or she shall be delivered up
unto the law of God.

"If any shall offend in secret, he or
she shall be rebuked in secret, that he
or she may have opportunity to confess
in secret to him or her whom he or she
has offended, and to God, that the
Church may not speak reproachfully of
him or her."

The object is to save people; to
make it as easy as possible for them
to repent and to make restitution for
their wrong; not to circulate the story
of their wrongdoing and create a pub-
lic scandal, but to have it settled ac-
cording to the law of God.

In another revelation, the Lord says:

"It always has been given to the El-
ders of my Church from the beginning,
and ever shall be, to conduct all meet-
ings as they are directed and guided by
the Holy Spirit."

This is the law of God to every
Bishop, to every stake president, and
to the president of every quorum or
association in the Church. They are
to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Thia
conference has been exceedingly inter-
esting because it has been conducted
by the Spirit of the Lord through the
man who presides over us on this oc-
casion. I may say that it is the most
Interesting conference of the Church
that I ever attended.

Another thing: The Lord certainly
placed prophets and apostles, evangel-
ists, pastors and teachers in the
Church, as Paul describes, for the work
of the ministry and for the edifying of
the body of Christ; but He has placed
the Bishops and the authorities of the
stakes in the Church for the perfecting
of the Saints, just as much as the
Apostles, or the Council of Seventies,

ELDER MATHIAS F. COWLEY.

61

or the Presiding Bishopric, or the Pres-
idency of the Church, who stand at the
head; and there ought to be an im-
provement in all the stakes in regard
to the adjustment of all matters af-
fecting the salvation of the Saints of
God in the respective stakes. I sup-
pose that the President of the Church
gets bushels of letters written by men
and women who, disregarding the
Bishop and the presidency of the stake,
go over the heads of those officers in
order to lay their cases before the Pres-
ident or to ask questions of him, some
of which are of the most foolish char-
acter. This is all wrong. I want to
advise the Latter-day Saints to settle
these questions at home just as far as
possible. When the Priesthood of God
is trusted by the people, there will be
a greater measure of the Spirit of the
Lord attending the ministrations of oui
Bishops and stake presidents through-
out the Church. I do not believe that
the Presidency of the Church are un-
der any obligation to do those things
that ought to be done by the local au-
thority, and I do not knew that they
have any promise of being blessed of
the Lord in doing work that ought to
be done by the Bishops and presidents
of stakes. I am impressed with this,
because I have been asked in various
stakes of Zion a great many questions
that could easily be answered by the
Bishop of the ward, and I have been
appealed to to seUH difficulties that
ought to be settled easily right at home.
The Latter-day Saints should under-
stand this and feel the responsibility of
it. The Priesthood of God is the repre-
sentation of God, if you please, in th&
earth. It is not man's personal in-
dividuality that we honor, but it is tht
authority of God which he holds. God
has established His work upon thu
earth, and He has appointed men to be
the recipients of His holy will and,
through their administration, to voice
that will unto the Latter-day Saints.
The Savior said to His disciples, "H*»
that receiveth you receiveth me; and
he that despiseth you despiseth me;
and he that despiseth me despiseth Him
that sent me." When this principle is
understood and properly carried out,
there will be more of the power of God

in the midst of the Latter-day Saints,
there will be a stronger bond of union
among them, and there will be greater
and more effective work accomplished
throughout the stakes and wards by
the local Priesthood. I »wish to say to
every man in the Church, young and
old, that the greatest desire of his heart
should be to honor the office in the
Priesthood which he holds, and not
have constantly in his mind the great-
ness of somebody else's calling. It is
all the authority of God, the one Priest-
hood, and it cannot be parted asun-
der. The High Priest holds the Mel-
chisedek Priesthood ;the Seventy holdb
the same, just as the Apostle does, and
he is entitled to the power of God in
his ministrations among the people. 1
have heard President Woodruff say
many times that he never enjoyed mora
of the Spirit of God than he did when
he was a Priest, preaching the Gospel,
I believe, in Arkansas. It was the same
with John the Baptist, and with
Philip; they enjoyed the spirit and
power of Almighty God, and yet they
officiated in the Lesser Priesthood. We
are entitled to the same blessing if we
live for it. I think it would be a
good thing if every Bishop would call
together all the Priesthood in his Ward,
and would select from the High Priests,
the Seventies and the Elders enough
men to act in the capacity of Priests. I
have enquired in the Stakes of Zion
where I have traveled, about a quorum
of Priests and have found but few. Yet
the Lord has laid down that as one of
the offices in the Lesser Priesthood,
and has specificially stated that they
are the ministers of the Gospel unto
the people.

We had instructions here last night
by President Smith concerning our re-
sponsibility to the authorities of Wards
and Stakes. I have been taught this
doctrine all my life. I was born and
raised on the same block as Brother
Frank Y. Taylor and Brother John W.
Taylor, and I used to act in the ca-
pacity of a Teacher in the home of
President John Taylor. I was not very
well qualified, it is true. I believe the
only qualification I had was a willing
spirit and an obedient heart; but the
Lord blessed me in my labors. When-

62

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

ever we entered into the house of Pres-
ident Taylor as Teachers, he laid aside
all other things that were demanding
his attention, and he would call his fam-
ily together, sit down with us, and hear
what we had to say. On one occasion
a young man, who was asked to ques-
tion President Taylor in regard to the
performance of his duties as a member
of the Church, said he did not want to.
Why not? Because, said he, he is a so
much better and greater man than we
are. President Taylor told him it was
his duty to question him. "Why," said
the young man, "I don't think you
would hold the office that you do if
you did not perform your duty as a
member of the Church." The President
replied, "It is your duty to find out

whether I do my duty as a member or
not; whether I teach my children the
principles of the Gospel, and pay my
tithing, and attend to my family and
my secret prayers."

The more men know about the Priest-
hood of God, the more they respect it.
I say to the people, seek unto the
Priesthood of God, and let wizards, nec-
romancers, hypnotists, spiritualists and
all such things alone; for within the
Church of God there is all sufficient for
our salvation in this life and our exal-
tation in the life to come. God bless
you. Amen.

The choir sang, "Rouse, all ye mor-
tals."

Eenediction by Presiding Patriarch
John Smith.

THIRD DAY.

IN THE TABERNACLE.
MONDAY, OCT. 6, 10 A. M.

The choir and congregation sang the
hymn which begins:

Do what is right; the day dawn la
breaking.

Hailing a future of freedom and light.
Angels above us are silent notes taking
Of every action; do what is right!

Opening prayer was offered by Elder
Joseph E. Taylor, counselor in the pre-
sidency of the Salt Lake Stake.

Singing by the choir:

Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell,
By faith and love, in every breast;

Then shall we know and taste and feel
The Joys that cannot be expressed.

ELDER MARRINER W. MERRILL.

Remarkable development of the Lord's work — The
elements tempered, and tbe land blessed —
Continued Improvement essential — Import-
ance of the teacher's calling— Evils of debt and
mort gages.

The meetings of the conference thus
far have been very interesting to me.
I have listened with a great deal of in-
terest to the reports of the presidents
of missions and presidents of the Stakes
of Zion. We are here, my brethren and
sisters, to be fed spiritually, and to be

instructed with regard to our temporal
duties. Thus far, I think, we have all
been satisfied with the things that we
have heard and the spirit that has been
manifest. Indeed we may say we have
had a refreshing from the Lord. We
have been benefitted and profited by the
various subjects that have been treated
upon. How vast is the work of the
Lord! And how it is increasing and
spreading abroad, notwithstanding the
difficulties that have been thrown in
the way! When we look back, say 50
years (there are many here, I suppose,
that can remember 50 years back,) and
observe the progress that has been
made in 50 years, it is wonderful to
contemplate. While in that time twen-
ty of our Apostles and Presidents of the
Church have passed to the other side,
yet we see today the Church is stronger
and the people are more numerous than
ever before. There is more interest man-
ifested in the forwarding of this work in
the earth, than ever before in our his-
tory. Thus we see the hand of the Lord
manifest towards this people in their
growth and development in the earth.
What will be the growth and develop-
ment in fifty more years? No doubt
there are people here that will live to

ELDER MARRINER W. MERRILL.

63

see fifty more years, and the work be-
ing developed fifty years hence.

We have great cause to give thanks
and praise to our heavenly Father for
His goodness unto us, and for His mer-
cy in tempering the elements in these
high mountain valleys. I can well re-
member when it was said that certain
valleys in these mountains would not
produce the cereals of the earth, be-
cause of their altitude and the frosts;
but this saving has been brought to
naught. I remember very distinctly go-
ing with President Young on his first
trip into the Bear Lake Valley. A
number in the company, after we ar-
rived there and camped, predicted that
there never would be any grain raised
in Bear Lake Valley, because it was too
cold. But we find that the Lord tem-
pered the elements. I remember what
President Young told them in the first
meeting. He said, "You have come here
to a cold, high valley; but if you will
stay here and be contented, and serve
the Lord, you will get rich." He as-
sured them that they would be able to
raise grain; but if you cannot raise
grain, said he, you can raise hops, and
get rich raising hops. We find that
the elements have been tempered in
all the high valleys. In Cache valley
we all huddled together, you know, on
the low lands. I remember President
Kimball saying one time when he was
there that the day would come when we
would want to crowd up toward the
mountains, and cultivate the land on
the high benches. That saying is veri-
fied today. Go into Cache valley and
you can see the valley cultivated in
places almost to the top of the moun-
tains, while the lower part of the val.
ley is abandoned to grass.

The Lord has been with His people.
He has been with His servants. And it
has seemed to me, in watching the
progress of the work of the Lord, as if
e"ery administration that we have had
was a little stronger than the previous
one: but perhaps that is not the case.
It may only be that in the develop-
ment of the work of the Lord new
things have arisen. The Lord did not
promise He would reveal everything
at once. He said He would give line
upon line, precept upon precept, here a

little and there a little; and as the work
of the Lord develops new features are
brought before the people. Things are
revealed from time to time that were
not necessary half a century ago.

Now, taking into consideration om
condition and our circumstances, is
there yet room for improvement among
the Latter-day Saints? Notwithstand-
ing the good reports that we hear from
the various Stakes of Zion, let me ask,
is there yet a chance for improvement
in the Church of Christ? Why, thefe
certainly is. We have not all come to
the unity of the faith yet. We have
not all come to a perfect understand-
ing of the Gospel. We learn a little to-
day and a little tomorrow, advance step
by step and keep learning a little more
about the work of God.

The Lord has given unto His people a
perfect organization, such as is not
found anywhere else in the world. It
was reported by somebody since the
conference commenced that there werti
no poor in one of the Stakes of Zion.
When I heard that, I thought to myself
that that Stake was in rather a bad
condition. The Savior said, The poor
ye have always with you. My experi.
ence in the Church has taught me that
if no poor are found it is because a
thorough search has not been made in
the Stake; for I believe there are poor
in all the Stakes of Zion. There is a
certain class of people amongst us that
wont make their wants known. They
will suffer, and suffer a great deal, be-
fore they will let their neighbors know
their condition. I have acted as a
Bishop for eighteen years in tbv?
Church, and I have found in my ad-
ministration that there are cases of
this kind, where people will not re-
veal their condition. Such people have
to be hunted for; and then looked af-
ter, by the Priests, or by the Teach
ers, or by somebody, in order that their
circumstances may be made known. I
will guarantee if all the Stakes of Zion
were searched carefully it would be
found that there are poor everywhere;
not so extensively perhaps in some
Stakes as in others, but there are poor.
The organization that the Lord has giv.
en us suits the condition of every mem-
ber of the Church, and also the condi-

64

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

tion of non-members of the Church, be-
cause they, living among- us, are to be
cared for, are to be looked after, and
treated kindly.

I fear there is a lack, my brethren
and sisters, with regard to the labors
of the Lesser Priesthood. I fear thia
because I know from experience that it
requires a constant labor and a con-
stant watchcare on the part of the
Bishop to keep the Lesser Priesthood in
good working order. Now, every family
in the Church, and every family in
the district, whether they are in the
Church or not, ought to be visited. They
are the Lord's children, and they ought
to be looked after. They ought to be
visited at least once a month. Can we
Bishops or Presidents of Stakes say,
and say truthfully, that the flock over
which the Lord has appointed us to
preside is visited, cared for, looked af-
ter and provided for. If we can, then
we are in a happy condition, and we
are doing just what the Lord wants us
to do. But if we fail in this import-
ant matter, then it is time for us to
consider, to counsel together as the
Priesthood, as a quorum of the
Priesthood, and see wherein we can
make our labor more valuable and more
profitable to the Latter-day Saints. The
Teachers, you know, have general jur-
isdiction. The office of a Teacher is
an important one in the Church. I
remember once going as a Teacher into
the family of President Kimball, and
President Kimball was there. Of course,
being a boy, I felt bashful, and ver>
diffident in talking in the home of one
of the Presidency of the Church; but
it was not long before President Kim-
ball made me feel perfectly at home, to
talk there just as I would to anyone
else, because of the spirit and kind-
ness he manifested. He says, "I want
you to preach the Gospel to my fam.
ily. If you see anything out of order,
I want you to tell them about it;
whether it be indoors or out-of-doors,
tell them about it; advise with them
about it, counsel with them about it."
Now, that has always been a lesson
to me. I have always remembered it.
The Teachers should advise with the
people in regard to their interests. Not
that they should have one simple rou-

tine of questions to ask in every fam-
ily; that is not necessary, and the Lord
will not lead you that way either; but
He will lead you to say such things in
each family as shall be suitable and
proper. The Lord will be with ever>
Teacher if he is humble and prayerful.
No»w, I conclude, from my own ex-
perience, thai the very best thing in
the world for the Teacher to do before
he goes out, is to go off into a secret
place, and tell the Lord he is going ouv
in fulfilment of his duty, to labor as a
minister of the Gospel among the
people. If you will do this in humility,
the Lord will be with you and direct
you in your labors. Now, do not miss
anybody in your travels. Do not be in
such a hurry that the most remote fam.
ily in the district may not be visited
and looked after. You may feel in your
hearts that those people are no good,
that they are not worthy, that they
wont receive you kindly, and so on; but
there may be children there, on whom
your influence may have great effect,
and you cannot afford to neglect them.
We cannot afford to neglect our duty to
these people. Now, these things apply
to the Presidency of the Stake as well
as to the Bishopric.

There is one very good thing that
tht-- Teachers might talk to the people
about, and that is with regard to going
in debt. Some of our people have had
a great desire to go in debt, perhaps
for the purpose of making as good a
show as their neighbors. In my opin-
ion, the time has come when we should
desist from "going into debt. We should
not mortgage our homes. This is a sub-
ject that I certainly think the Teachers
should talk about. I hope that it may
be said from this time on that the Lat-
ter-day Saints will not mortgage their
realty, their homes, their chattels, or
anything they have. Under some cir-
cumstances it may be a necessity; but
a rule it is a bad thing, and we
ought to quit it. I have seen people
turned out of their homes, owing to
tre mortgage being foreclosed. They
have had to let it go for half its valu^,
because it is seldom you can borrow
on a piece of property the full value of
it, and in that way their hard earningr
are dissipated. Do not mortgage your

ELDER DAVID K. UDALL.

6S

homes. There was a time when there
were no mortgages in all Utah; but
1t is not so today. I do not suppose
there is a Stake of Zion that is now
free from it. It is time, therefore, that
we began to seriously consider our con-
dition, and cease going in debt. Let us
pay off our mortgages and our obliga-
tions as fast as possible; and the quick-
est and easiest way to do it is for every
man to pay his tithing and offerings
to the Lord. For everything belongs
to the Lord, and He has made us stew-
aids over what He has placed in our
hands. Then let us pay our obligations
to the Lord, no matter what our neigh-
bor may say about it. Every man
in the Church should pay his tithing,
and pay it when he has it. Do not put.
off paying the tithing on your sum-
mer's wage until the fall, because that
is not a good way. When you receive
your monthly salary, pay your tithir.g
right at the time; and do the same
with whatever you get from any
3ource. If you will do this, the Lor>l
will open up your way and help you
out of debt. Let us make a resolve
not to go in debt any more, and the
Lord will assist us to carry it out. We
not only want to get out of debt our-
selves, but we want to see the Church
out of debt, so that the hands of the
Presidency may be so liberated that
they can use whatever means are
necessary for the development of the
work of the Lord and the building up
of Zion. If we had in our possession
today the interest that we have paid
on outside capital, it would help us
considerably.

Another thing: Let us not make too
many demands upon the Presidency of
the Church. The Presidents of Stakes
and Bishops of wards are continually
asking the Church to help them for one
purpose or another. Bless your soul,
tne Presidency of the Church would b=
willing to help everybody if they had
it in their power; but it is not in their
power at present. Therefore, if we have
a meetinghouse to build, let us go to
and build it without asking aid from
the Church. If we could utilize thv
labor that is wasted in all the Stakes
of Zion, we could build all the meeting-
-houses we need. You brethren that

need meetinghouses in your wards and
stakes, try and utilize that labor in
the building of them. I know by ex-
perience that this can be done. Then
you will not have to ask the Church fcr
anything.

These are some of the details that
affect us in our wards and stakes. It
would be a good thing for the Bishops*
and Presidents to make a note of what
is said by the speakers, and wherein
the remarks fit their circumstances,
apply them. We are gathered from
all parts to get information and in-
struction, and let us not pass these
things by without giving heed to therr.

I testify to you, my brethren and sis-
ters, that this is the work of the Lord
It has done my soul good to hear the
brethren testify that they knew tikffc
was the work of God. It is not our
work, but the Lord has given us tho
privilege to take part in it. Joseph
^mith, the great prophet of the last
dispensation, has a wjatchcare over
as today, just as he had while he wa^
on the earth; and he is not so very
far off, either. The Prophet Brigham
also, and the other leaders of Israel
who have gone to the other side, are
watching over the people of God; and
let us not feel that they are away,
beyond the bounds of time and space,
because they are not very far away.
This is the work of God. Joseph was a
great prophet. He ushered in this dis-
pensation of the fulness of times, and
it is gradually going forward. It hss
spread abroad upon the mountains and
in the valleys, and will continue to do
so. God will build up His kingdom and
sustain His servants. Let us see to
it that we are not found complaining
or faultfinding, but let it be said of u*
mat we have sustained the work of
God and our brethren. God bless you,
is my prayer in the name of Jesus
Christ. Amen.

ELDER DAVID K. UDALL,
(President of St. Johns Stake.)
I desire the faith and prayers of my
brethren and sisters the short time that
I may stand before you. I am not like
President Andrew Kimball, acquaint-
ed with every nook and corner of this

66

GENERAL. CONFERENCE.

beautiful city of yours. It is a revela-
tion to me to behold what is to be seen
in these lovely valleys of the moun-
tains. It has not been my good for-
tune to be associated intimately with
the leading authorities of the Church,
only when they have visited our coun-
try. For twenty-seven years I have
been engaged in looking after the in-
terests of the Latter-day Saints in dif-
ferent parts of the Lord's vineyard. It
has been my lot to be on the frontiers,
and to assist in building up the waste
places of Zion. I have rejoiced in this
labor, and have seen the power of God
made manifest on many occasions in
the support and succor that has come
to the Latter-day Saints in the estab-
lishment of new colonies. I rejoice ex-
ceedingly in the testimony of the Gos-
pel of Jesus Christ. I know this is the
work of God. I have known for many
years that those who led the Church
were inspired of the Almighty. I can
remember, in the days of my childhood,
when the little children went out to
greet President Brigham Young as he
passed through the settlements of the
Saints. I recollect how my heart leap-
ed with joy and satisfaction in seeing
this great man and in listening to his
words and the words of those who ac-
companied him on those noted trips.
In my ministry among the people I
have rejoiced in the teachings and the
words of encouragement that have
come from the leaders of the Church,
and I bear my testimony today that
the men who lead Israel are men of
God, who have had and do have the
power and the inspiration to lead this
people successfully, if we will adhere
to their instructions.

I have had great pleasure in my la-
bors in the St. Johns Stake of Zion.
"We do not raise these wonderful sweet
potatoes that President Kimball re-
ferred to; but I will tell you what we
do have, as no doubt President Kimball
has in his Stake: we have a choice peo-
ple in that land, who are trying to
serve God. As an evidence of this, we
discover in all the wards a desire on the
part of the Bishops and the Saints gen-
erally to keep up the organizations that
have been established for the welfare

of the people. "We are at peace with
our neighbors. We have the Navajos on
one side of us, and the Apaches on the
other; and in some places where our
people reside there are Pueblo Indians.
"We are at peace with these people. "We
are at peace with the territory of Ari-
zona, and I was very thankful to listen
to the remarks of President Kimball
yesterday in regard to our treatment
there. I think it is due the people and
officials of the territory that the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
should understand that we are treated
nicely and kindly in the country in
which we live. The conditions sur-
rounding us in the St. Johns Stake are
rather peculiar. We live in a section
of country where we are not favored
with a railroad passing through any of
our settlements, nor a telegraph line.
"Whether these things are a blessing or
not is not for me to say, but we miss
these opportunities of the age. We re-
joice, however, that we have the same'
privileges in the Gospel that you have
who are more favored in these other re-
gards. We have a people free from
mortgages. I do not believe there is a
single home belonging to the Latter-
day Saints in that Stake of Zion that
is under mortgage. Every meeting-
house, every schoolhouse, our Academy
building, and all our public property,
is free of debt; and though we are poor,
we rejoice in that fredom. In our farm-
ing we depend almost entirely upon res-
ervoirs. If my memory serves me right
in the eight wards of that Stake we
have fourteen reservoirs, constructed
by the united labor of the people. With
a population of about 1,500 in the Stake,
we have expended in the neighborhood
of $80,000 in the building of reservoirs,
and we do not owe anything for them.

I am happy, my brethren and sisters,
in having the privilege occasionally to
come and visit with you and to attend
the general conferences. I pray God to
continue to bless and prosper His peo-
ple. There is one thing comes to my
mind that I will refer to. We have
been very much exercised in our part
of the country over our financial condi-
tions. The young men and many of the
fathers and husbands are under the ne-

ELDER JESSE W. CROSBY.

67

cessity of leaving their homes to find
employment, so that they may support
their families in these dry times that
we are passing through. The thought
has occurred to us many times that if
we could put forth the same energy
and union in this direction that we
manifest in keeping up the organiza-
tion of the Church, it would not he
necessary for us to leave home to find
employment. I look forward to the time
when in every village and city through-
out the land where the people of God
dwell, there will he industrial estab-
lishments, where our young people will
he taught to work in wood and iron,
etc., and by means of which we will be
able to produce all that is necessary
for our support. How is it today? "We
bring in from abroad that which we
wear, and that which we eat in some
localities. Nearly everything that we
need has to be imported; at least, that
has been the case with us for some
years past, in consequence of the
drouth. How it is that we can live
and maintain this drain upon the peo-
ple is a mystery to me. It certainly is
an evidence that God is watching over
us. In many of our homes we see the
motto, "God will provide," and He,
surely has provided for the colonies of
the Latter-day Saints on the outskirts.
I bear testimony to this today. God
bless this people and the leaders of Is-
rael, and may we be faithful and true
to them, as they are true and faithful
to the Church of Christ.is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER JESSE W. CROSBY,

(Of the Presidency of Big Horn Stake.)

In standing before you this morning
and representing the Big Horn Stake of
Zion — a new stake that has been or-
ganized in "Wyoming — and in listening
to the reports of the different missions
and stakes, I feel that we still belong
to Zion. The people of our stake have
come from various parts; some from
almost every county in Utah, some from
Idaho, some from Canada, some from
Mexico. They have formed themselves
into a body of people there that are

known and recognized as Latter-day
Saints. To us who have gone there it
has been a land of promise, and our
gathering is a fulfillment of prophecy;
for it was prophesied many years ago
that the Saints would locate in the Big
Horn basin and become a flourishing
people. President Young prophesied in
regard to this, as did Jesse "W. Fox, the
well known surveyor, who went into
that locality and discovered its re-
sources. We believe that the Lord has
held in reserve portions of that coun-
try for His people.

I do not think it necessary to say
much about our country; in the due
time of the Lord it will speak for itself.
When compared with many places that
the Saints have located in, it is cer-
tainly a goodly land. The Lord has
heard and answered the prayers of His
people there, and the success that has
attended our labors has been marvelous
to us, as well as to those who have
watched our operations. Quite a num-
ber of eastern people have tried to col-
onize in that land, but have r>een unsuc-
cessful in taking out the water. They
have had fto concede that the Latter-
day Saints are natural colonizers, be-
cause of the union that exists among
them. In a little over two years we
have opened a number of canals, our
biggest canal being thirty-three miles
long, and costing nearly $100,000.00.
The water was taken out this year, go-
ing the full length of the ditcn, and on
the 23rd of June we commenced irri-
gating, and have produced some crops.
This will show what can be done on
that soil.

We have friends in that land. The
governor of the state has been watching
very carefully what the Latter-day-
Saints were capable of doing. He says
he has watched us with more than per-
sonal interest, so that he might see
what could be done to make some of
that desert land fruitful. Since we
commenced operations, companies from
the east and the west have started to
taking out canals. The officials of the
state of Wyoming are treating us with
all the courtesy that we could ask. We
have come to regard Governor Richards
as being unto us like Joseph was in

*

68

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

Egypt, and we feel very grateful to
him.

Many of those who have gone into
the Big Horn country are poor people.
They had more labor than they could
utilize where they were living, the
water resources being limited, and they
either had to work for someone else or
go without employment. They are now
working for themselves, opening up
farms and making homes. About two
years ago we discovered that we were
going to be short of provisions, many
people having come in without sufficient
to hold out until they could raise some-
thing. The situation seemed somewhat
serious; but the Lord openea the way,
in answer to fasting and prayer. The
Burlington railroad officials offered us
contracts on their road, which we ac-
cepted; and after fulfilling the contracts
we received our money, and utilized it
to the very best advantage.

The people, I believe, are trying hard
to make it a land of Zion, by keeping
the commandments of the Lord thereon.
We have a God-fearing people there,
who are trying with all their hearts to
serve God, and to make the land a
place that the Lord will delight to bless
because of the faithfulness of those who
dwell there.

May God bless Israel, and all who
write and speak in favor of Zion, is the
prayer of your humble servant, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER STEPHEN L. CHIPMAN
(President of Alpine Stake).

My beloved brethren and sisters, I
rejoice in the privilege that I have of
meeting with the Saints at the Confer-
ence of the Church, to receive the in-
structions which come from the lead-
ing brethren of the Church. I never
come to these Conference meetings
without being fed with the bread of
life. 1 have shown to me many places
in my character that are weak, and
when I depart from the Conference I
feel strengthened in my faith and in
my determination to go forth among
the people and, if possible, make a
greater effort to accomplish good. I
have rejoiced in the testimonies that

have been borne by my brethren. I
have been exceedingly grateful and sat-
isfied in my feelings with the manner
in which these meetings have been con-
ducted, wherein we have had the pri-
vilege of listening to our brethren from
far and near bear their testimony and
tell of their work among the people.

I have pleasure in reporting the Al-
pine Stake of Zion, which is located in
the north end of Utah county. It com-
prises ten wards and four branches.
The largest ward numbers about three
thousand souls; the smallest about two
hundred and fifty souls. In the ten
wards there are now being erected
seven meetinghouses, one of which you
might term a magnificent tabernacle,
which will cost in the neighborhood of
$50,000 or $60,000. About two weeks ago
we called the Bishops and the High
Council of the Stake together and con-
versed with them upon the condition of
their wards, and we found the spirit
of harmony existing among them. On
the following evening we called togeth-
er all the authorities of the Stake, and
from them we also learned that the
spirit of harmony and good feeling pre-
vailed in their midst and with the peo-
ple they are presiding over. The presi-
dency of the Stake are united; the
High Council are united. We can tes-
tify that there is a good feeling pre-
vailing in the Alpine Stakp. Tn pnitf*
of the outlay of means in the erection
of these meetinghouses, we are pleased
to state that last year the people did
not fall behind in their tithes and of-
ferings. All the organizations of our
Stake kept a record of their doings for
the year 1901, upon loose leaves which
were given to them for that purpose.
These leaves were handed in at the
end of the year.and have been compiled
and bound in one record, so that we
have the records of the different or-
ganizations, together with the minutes
cf the presidency of the Stake, all in
one volume. The presidency of the
Stake meet every week, to talk and
plan for the welfare of the people. We
have counseled our Bishops to do like-
wise, as well as the presiding officers
in the various organizations. We have
secured individual tithing cards for
every member who paid tithing in our

ELDER URIAH T. JONES.

(59

Stake last year, which have been given
to the Bishops to present to each tithe-
payer. The card has on it the amount
of tithing that the individual paid last
year, and it contains space for the re-
cording of his or her tithing for twenty
years. We keep duplicates of these
cards at our office. From the testimo-
ny of the Bishops we believe that this
will result in good. Only this morn-
ing one of the Bishops reported to us
that in delivering a card, the brother
receiving it said he felt ashamed of the
tithing that he had paid, and he has
already paid a great deal more tithing
this year than he paid during the whole
of last year. The people are instruct-
ed to bring these tithing cards at the
time of settlement, so that what they
have paid during the year may be
placed on them.

We know that our labors among the
people are appreciated, from the fact
that they are carrying out the instruc-
tions which we have given them. Wa
know that the gifts of the Gospel are
among the people as they were ancient-
ly. Not long since one of our members
met with an accident in the little city
of Alpine. A large hayfork ran in his
body at the shoulder to a depth of
fifteen inches. The physicians were
called in to dress the wound, and they
declared that his chances for living
were very slim. His mother received
a testimony at that time that he would
live, and therefore told them that he
would not die. The Elders were called
in to administer to him, and in about
two weeks the young man was out
upon the streets, and is living today.
There was another brother, who came
to us to receive a blessing for his
speech. He was of a stammering
tongue. Before he went on a mission
to which he had been called.he received
a blessing at the hands of the presi-
dency of the Stake, and word comes to
us that he has been wonderfully blessed
so that he is able to speak to the peo-
ple in plainness and without difficulty.
We have the spirit of prophecy, the
gift of tongues, the gift of revelation
and of great wisdom in our Stake, and
we feel to rejoice that these blessings
are with the people today as they were
anciently. We also can testify that we

know the Gospel is true, and that the
men whom God has called to lead in
the affairs of the Church are men of
God. The teachings they give us are
true and timely. If we live up to
them, they build us up in our faith and
make us better men and women .

I pray that the Lord will bless us in
our labors, and help us to magnify our
callings, that our faith in Him may be
increased, that our testimonies may be
added upon, and that we may have
strength and courage to perform every
duty required at our hands, in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER URIAH T. JONES,
(President of Parowan Stake.)

In facing this vast audience I feel
that I am overrated; but I am very
grateful for the honor conferred upon
me in having the privilege of repre-
senting the Parowan Stake of Zion. It
is one of the oldest stakes in the
Church, Iron county having been set-
tled, I believe, in the fall of 1850. In
the years 1853-4 iron works were start-
ed in that county, and the population at
that time was about as numerous as it
is today. After the failure In the manu-
facture of iron, the number of inhab-
itants was reduced nearly three-fourths.
Cedar City then had three hundred
families, and in 1856-7 there were only
about fifty families. We now have a
population in that stake of a little up-
wards of four thousand. We have all
the auxiliary organizations of the
Church in fairly good running order,
and those who have charge seem to be
alive to their duties. The tithing of
the people is not as we would like it to
be. Of course, we attribute that, to
some extent, to the unusually severe
drouth that that part of the country is
going through at the present time, and
which we hope will soon be broken.
Numbers of our young men, the best of
our communities, are moving to other
places. During the last three years we
have been under the necessity of or-
ganizing the Young Men's association
three different times, the presidencies
having moved to other places. The
present prospects are that our wonder-

70

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ful iron deposits will be developed. Of
course, we cannot tell; we Aave been
fooled so many times that it won't hurt
us if we get disappointed again; but
from what we can judge at present the
time has arrived when they will be
developed, and instead of our people
moving away we will have room for
many to move in.

As I have said, I feel it an honor to
have the privilege of standing before
you for a few moments and bearing my
testimony to the divinity of the mission
of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I
pray that the blessings of the Lord may
be with us as a people, that we may
be as a light set upon a bill, that the
people of the world, seeing our good
works, may be led to glorify the name
of our Father in heaven. In the name
of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER CHARLES D. WHITE,
(President of Beaver Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, in standing
before you here, I feel as Brother Jones
stated, as if I was overrated, although
I am very pleased to be numDered with
the Latter-day Saints and to have the
privilege of meeting with you in gen-
eral conference. I endorse all the re-
marks that we have heard during this
conference. My testimony is that they
are true, and that they have been dic-
tated by the Spirit of God. The Beaver
stake is in the southern part of this
state, adjoining Parowan stake. While
we have suffered in the past from
drouth and frost, we have not the same
reason to complain that they have. We
feel that the Lord has blessed us abun-
dantly, because we have very fair crops
this year, and our prospects are bright.
Beaver City, the capital of our county,
is as nice a little city as there is any-
where. We may not have the rich soil
and the good climate that they have in
other parts of the state, but we have
as good water, as fine streets, and as
clean a city as there is anywhere. We
also have a Church school that we are
very proud of — a branch of the Brig-
ham Young Academy — and it is doing a
great deal towards making Latter-day
Saints. I tell the people of Beaver that
the money invested in that school goes

further towards making Latter-day
Saints than the money they spend in
sending their Elders out into the world
to preach the Gospel, although we have
Elders out in the world who send us
very' encouraging reports of their la-
bors. In that school we have many
that will bear testimony, whenever op-
portunity affords, that they have
learned that the Gospel is true through
being taught there. We think that we
have the nicest place for a Church
school that there is anywhere in the
state. We have 240 acres of land, and
quite a number of buildings. There are
perhaps a hundred rooms rented at the
present time to students who are at-
tending the school, and we have room
for more. The school is increasing
each year. This is the fifth year of its
existence, and we are very much en-
couraged with it. We feel that the
Lord is blessing the people of Beaver.
I bear testimony that the Gospel is
true. The Lord has certainly revealed
His mind and will to His children in
this age of the world, and there is no
mistake about it.

I pray that God will bless us, that we
may be true and faithful to our call-
ings and always be found steadfast and
laboring for the advancement of the
kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

ELDER IRA N. HINCKLEY.
(President of Millard Stake).

My brethren and sisters, I feel full
of gratitude to my Father in heaven
and to my brethren for the privilege
of standing here a few moments, not-
withstanding I must confess that I
have rather shrank from it. Listening
to my brothers that are laboring as
presidents of stakes, seeing the good
spirit tha: has attended them and
noting the good instructions they have
given I felt that if I should be called
upon I might not be able to interest
the people as much which will probably
be true. I was much pleased with "he
remarks of Apostle Merrill this morning
in regard to the great improvement
made in this part of the country. I
landed in this city in 1850. It was my

ELDER GEORGE TEASDALE.

71

good fortune for a while to be a police-
man on the streets of Salt Lake City,
and I used to know where every in-
dividual lived in the town, and where
everyone sat when they came to meet-
ing. But I was thinking if I was
dropped down with my eyes blindfolded
in some parts of this city now I would
hardly be able to find my way out, it
has made such a growth.

I feel to endorse the remarks that
have been made, and I assure you that
on returning home I want to put into
practice some of the things that have
been told us, in which we are behind
perhaps in our stake. We live just next
to Beaver, and we border on to Juab
stake. In listening I find out, as I al-
ways do when I come to conference,
that we are lacking in some things, anl
that there is room for improvement in
our stake. I am pleased with the oppor-
tunity of coming to headquarters for
the purpose of learning my duty, and
I desire to be faithful in discharging
it. I have struggled along and am a
member of the Church yet, and I hope
to continue to the end. I find that the
greatest difficulty I have, under some
circumstances, is to fellowship myself
from the crown of my head to the soles
of my feet, not being altogether satis-
fied at times that I have done my full
duty; but I assure you that I have been
determined to do right although I may.
not have been so strong as I might in
fulfilling all that has been required of
me. I am pleased to note the improve-
ment of the Latter-day Saints. I want
to tell you that I have endorsed the
leaders of Israel all the day long. I
have traveled with this Church some-
thing over 60 years and I know a little
about the people and the trials and
hardships we have gone through; and
when I see Zion at headquarters
branching out over the hills enjoying
plenty, dressing well, living well, I feel
to r ejoice.

We have all the organizations in our
stake of Zion that are in the other
stakes and they are in pretty good
shape. We have been suffering more
or less for three years from drouth, and
we have sometimes lost good citizens on
account of it, and sometimes we have
had some go that we are glad went. I

was very much pleased with the idea
expressed by one of the brethren, that
when people want to leave a stake ot
Zion they should get a release. I tell
you, I have always believed in standing
to the rack, hay or no hay. That has
been my motto all my life since coming
to Utah. I have not been on preaching
missions, but I have done some working
missions. I love my brethren, I love
the leaders of Israel, and I love and
fellowship my brethren in the stake
over which I preside. I know that the
Gospel is true, and I pray God to bles3
us in all our walks in life, that we
may stand shoulder to shoulder, in
touch with all the leaders of Israel
and in touch with our Father in
heaven. This is my prayer in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER GEORGE TEASDALE.

A promise fulfilled — Pleasure In preaching the
Gospel — The Lord answers prayer — Union
among the servants of God. .

I have been exceedingly interested
during this conference, and have re-
flected upon the power of testimony
that has been manifested here. Over
50 years ago I heard this everlasting
Gospel. It was then promised to me
that if I would worship the living and
true God, repent of my sins, accept of
the atonement of Jesus Christ, and
o'cey the Gospel, I should have the
piivilege of a knowledge that God
lived, that Jesus was indeed the Christ,
that Joseph Smith was a true prophet
tent of God, and that the signs fol-
lowed the believer. I was told that I
had to believe in God, the Maker of
heaven and earth, the sea and the
fountains of waters, and that I had to
accept of the efficacy of the precious
blood of Christ, which cleanseth from
sin and sanctifieth the believer, and
then I should receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Father
which would reveal to me the things of
God. This everlasting Gospel was
preached to me in my early days. Af-
ter some consideration I accepted it,
notwithstanding it was so dreadfully
unpopular; for the Latter-day Saints
were nicknamed "Mormons," and th*
doctrine they taught "Mormonism,"

72

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

and those who embraced it were looked
upon as the offscouring of all flesh. I
received the promised testimony, and
after 50 years' experience I do most as -
buredly know that God has spoken
from the heavens, that Joseph Smith
was a true prophet sent of God, and
that this Church, now presided over by
Presidents Joseph F. Smith, John R
Winder and Anthon H. Lund, is thij
Church of the Lamb.

This everlasting Gospel is being
preached in all the world for a wit-
ness. I have had the privilege of trav-
eling abroad to preach it. I labored
for some time in the Southern States,
declaring the message of salvation, and
when I was released to come home I
was sorry, for I was enjoying my la-
tors so much among that people. No
one could be treated any better than
I was by the people of the Southern
States. I never had to sleep out of
doors, for the Lord always opened up
the way for me. And I am so thankful
to know that the Lord blessed the peo
pie that blessed me. Those who threw
open their doors to the Elders, who
fed and clothed them, and who aided
them in the work of the ministry,
though they have not embraced the
Gospel they will most assuredly re-
ceive the recompense of reward from
the Lord Jesus, our Master. We were
representing the Lord Jesus Christ, noc
ourselves. We were not beguiling the
people by falsehood, by false dogmas or
to. lish traditions; we were offering
th<=m the Gospel of the Son of God
with the promise that if they would re-
pent and obey it they should be put in
possession of a similar testimony and
knowledge to that which we ourselves
enjoyed. Love the inhabitants of the
earth? Of course, we do. I have
crossed the Atlantic ocean seven times,
rot on pleasure trips, but in the inter-
ests of the Church, and I know how
the Lord has protected me and taught
me. He will do the same to anybody
else, if they will put their trust in Him
and ask; for He has declared in the^e
last days that if we will ask we shall
receive, if we will knock it shall be
opened unto us, if we seek we shall
find. We do most assuredly know that
this is true.

These are the glad tidings that we
take to the nations. We tell the peo-
ple what opportunities are within their
reach today, if they will only repert
and obey the Gospel. We are pleased
to do this, because we love the in-
habitants of the earth. As Latter-day
Saints we are frequently admonished
to live our religion. I understand that,
to live our religion is to love the Lord
oiir God with all our might, mind and
strength, and our neighbor as our-
selves, and speak of all the best we
can. I understand that to live my
religion is to mind my own business,
attend to my own affairs, work out n:y
own salvation, and magnify my calling.
I ".mderstand that to live my religion
is to trust in the Lord and do good; to
seek earnestly for the blessing of the
Almighty, and to be filled with grati-
tude to Him that I have the privilege
of being a member of His Church, that
1 have a living testimony, that I have
become -sanctified through the precious^
bl.->od of Christ, and that I have th»*
fellowship of the Holy Ghost. The Lord
has said He would be enquired after,
and I have enquired of Him for the
last 50 years, and do most assuredly
know that when I have asked for thct
wrich has been necessary He han
gi anted my prayer, having tested Him
under many different circumstances in
my labors. It has been my privilege to
bear my testimony in many countries,
and I have been thankful to Almighty
God for the manner in which He has
sustained me in all my travels. He
has preserved me from all harm, ai'dt
enabled me to accomplish His pur-
poses. I have frequently said that if
I had been as kind to myself as the
...ord has been to me, I would have
no reason to complain. I am thankful
to declare the loving kindness of our
Father in heaven.

Ihere is a living testimony manifest-
ed here. I shake hands with brethren*
whom I knew 50 years ago, when we
were brought into the Church by our
Father in heaven; for the Lord Jesus
Christ said, "No man can come to me,
e>cept the Father which hath sent me
draw him." I know that He drew me
and enlightened my mind; I know that
He drew my brethren and enlightened

ELDER JOHN W. TAYLOR.

73".

them. They know it, too, and we are
living witnesses, living monuments of
His mercy, that in all the vicissitudes
of life our Father has preserved us ani
has filled our souls with gratitude and
praise. He has given us the privilege
of the higher education in His ho 1 }'
temple, and of all the blessings of the
n^w and everlasting covenant. There
is nothing that we have and enjoy but
has been given to us by Him, and we
soy. All glory be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost!

I am thankful that I have the privil -
ege of bearing my testimony upon this
auspicious occasion. I am thankful for
this conference, and for the testimony
of my brethren. It has been sweet to
me to listen to their voices, declaring
the goodness of God to them. We can
see what class of men the Lord has
selected to be his ministers, humble,
childlike, filled with the Spirit of the
Lord. Do we love each other? We
do; it is impossible for us to do any-
thing else. May the Lord God of Israel
bless these His servants in all then-
outgoings and incomings. May they
be established in His everlastirg
righteousness, that their days ma>
never fail, but that their testimony
may be true and bright, so that they
rray lay down their lives as members
of the Church of Christ in full fellow-
snip, to be received into the Church
of the Lamb behind the veil, and to
realize the promise, Blessed are they
that have a right to the tree of life.
If we can obtain a right to the tree of
life, we will surely be members of the
Church of Christ in good standing, to
the glory of God our Eternal Father,
through Jesus Christ. Amen.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

Possession of Priesthood not confined to a few.

Although we may enjoy a little a>l-
\antage over the rest of the congre-
gation, for my part I could stay here
a week longer to hear the testimonies
of my brethren, and to give to the
world an opportunity to see and know
that the Priesthood in the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is
not confined to one man, nor to three

men, nor to fifteen men, but that there
are thousands of men in Zion who
hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, which
is after the order of the Son of God,
and who possess keys of authority and
po-ver to minister for life and salvation
amcng the people of the world. I
would like to give the world an oppor-
tunity to see what we are, to hear
what we know, and to understand
what our business is and what we in-
tend to do, by the help of the Lord.
The choir sang:

Zion stands with hills surrounded.
Benediction by Elder George C. Par-
kinson, president of Oneida Stake.

CLOSING SESSION.

The choir sang:

Though deep'ning trials throng your
way,

Press on, press on, ye Saints of God.
Ere long the resurrection day
Will spread its light and truth abroad.

The opening prayer was offered by
Elder Wm. C. Parkinson, president of
Hyrum Stake.

Singing by the choir:

Hark! listen to the trumpeters!
They sound for volunteers,
On Zion's bright and flowery mount
Behold the officers.

ELDER JOHN W. TAYLOR.

Ancient prophecies fulfilled in these days— The
work of John and the three Nephites— Pre-
paration for the coming of Messiah.

My dear brethren and sisters, I nev-
er enjoyed a conference better in my
life than the one we are now holding;
for I delight in hearing the workers in
Zion express their views. This is a re-
markable congregation, and last night
we also had this house filled to over-
flowing, with Sunday school workers.
When I see these large congregations
gathered together in the tops of the
mountains it Alls my heart with joy,
because I can see in it the fulfillment
of ancient prophecies. Yesterday the
choir rendered a beautiful anthem,
suggesting that the mountain of the
Lord's house would be established :n_
the tops of the mountains. The Proph-
et Isaiah spoke of this. He was a great

74

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

prophet. He prophesied of the coming
forth of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ a long time before His birth in-
to the world. He also prophesied of the
coming forth of the Gospel in the dis-
pensation of the fullness of times, as,
well as the coming forth of the Book
of Mormon. He said:

"And it shall come to pass in the last
days, that the mountain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the top
of the mountains, and shall be exalted
above the hills; and all nations shall
flow unto it.

"And many people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the moun-
tain of the Lord, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of
his ways, and we will walk in his paths;
for out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jeru-
salem."

Brethren and sisters, where did you
come from? You came from the va-
rious nations of the earth, and in your
presence here is fulfilled one of the
greatest signs that will ever be given
to this generation before the second
coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.

When our Savior was among men he
rebuked them because they took no no-
tice of the fulfillment of prophecy. He
said, "O ye hypocrites, ye can discern
the face of the sky; but can ye not dis-
cern the signs of the times?" He said
further: "Ye hypocrites, well did
Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This
people draweth night unto me with
their mouth, and honoreth me with
their lips; but their heart is far from
me. But in vam they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the command-
ments of men." Jesus wanted to im-
press them that they should rather
look to the fulfilment of prophecy than
to the precepts of men. He himself re-
spected all that the holy prophets ut-
tered. In His memorable sermon on
the mount He said: "Think not that I
am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets; I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfill. For verily
I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled."

The Prophet Jeremiah also prophe-
sied concerning the gathering, in the
following language:

"I will take you one of a city, and
two of a family, and I will bring you to
Zion:

"And I will give you pastors accord-
ing to mine heart, which shall feed
you with knowledge and understand-
ing."

When you find a pastor that will
teach the children of men according to
the heart of God, you will find one that
has perfect reverence for the words of
Jesus wherein He says, "Men shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God."

It has been eighteen hundred years
since any one has come forth and testi-
fied that they have seen the face of
God, until among all the nations of ttu->
earth they are beginning to look upon
the Eternal Father as an imaginary
creature. Through transgression the
Lord withdrew the Gospel from the
children of men. Jesus foreshadowed
this when He said to the Jews, "The
kingdom of God shall be taken from
you, and given to a nation bringi g
forth the fruits thereof." He was fi-
nally put to death, according to proph-
ecy, and after His resurrection He ap-
peared unto the Apostles. On one oc-
casion they asked Him, "Lord, wilt
thou at this time restore again the
kingdom to Israel? And he said unto
them, It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father
hath put in his own power." Again,
when His disciples asked him "what
shall be the sign of thy coming, ai d
of the end of the world?" He said,
among other things, "And this Gos. el
of the kingdom shall be preached in all
the world for a witness unto all na-
tions; and then shall the end come.''
He also said, "Jerusalem snail be trod-
den down of the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Here
are two remarkable signs that w* re
to precede the coming of the Son of
Man.

Now, the Lord our God has opened
the heavens in these last days, in ac-
cordance with the prophecy of Jesus
Christ, and the Father and the S n
have appeared to the Prophet Jose; h
Smith. The Gospel of Christ has been
restored, in fulfillment of prophecy, and
it is being preached in all the world
for a witness, according to the predic-

ELDER JOHN W. TAYLOR.

75

tion of the Savior. The Elders of Is-
rael have stood up in your midst and
spoken as they were moved upon by
the Holy Ghost. "When you heard them
you said in your heart that what they
said was true; for behold it went
through your systems like fire. God
poured out upon you the convincing
power of His Holy Spirit, and gave
you a witness that the Elders were
servants of God and were speaking un-
der the influence of the Spirit of truth.
Hence you yielded obedience to the
Gospel. This also is in accordance
with the words of Jesus wherein He
says, "My sheep know my voice; but a
stranger they will not follow." The
voice of the Spirit of God led you out
from the nations of the earth. As El-
der Teasdale testified here this morn-
ing, "No man can come to me, except
the Father which sent me draw him."
When that Spirit rests upon the hon-
est in heart their greatest desire is to
help build up the kingdom of God.

A portion of Israel is now gathered
together, but in a little while you will
find another prophecy will be fulfilled,
and that is the prophecy that Jesus
made to the three Nephites who, hav-
ing power over death, are still livirg
upon this continent. He spoke to them
of a time when they would perform a
great and mighty work among the
Gentiles; and that has not yet been
fulfilled, but it will be. You
will find that many districts where the
Elders of Israel cannot reach will be
penetrated by these men who have pow-
er over death; and when the honest in
heart see the power and authority that
is with them, they will feel like Nico-
demus did of old, (but I trust they will
have more faith and courage) when he
said, "Rabbi, we know that thou art
a teacher come from God: ror no man
can do these miracles that tnou doest,
except God be with him." These three
men are going to perform a great work
in the program of the last days, as is
the beloved disciple, John, whom Christ
refers to when He says, "If I will that
he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee?" According to a revelation given
through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the
Savior said unto Peter, "If I will that
he tarry till I come, what «s that to

thee? for he desired of me that he might
bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst
that thou mightest speedily come un-
to me in my kingdom. I say unto thee,
Peter, this was a good desire, but my
beloved has desired that he might d»
more, or a greater work yet among men
than what he has done before; yea, he
has undertaken a greater work; there-
fore I will make him as flaming fire and
a ministering angel; he shall minister
for those who shall be heirs of salva-
tion who dwell on the earth."

My testimony is that these men are
going abroad in the nations of the
earth before the face of your sons, and
they are preparing the hearts of the
children of men to receive the Gospel.
They are administering to those who
are heirs of salvation, and preparing
their hearts to receive the truth, just as
the farmer prepares the soil to receive
the seed. The Lord has promised that
He would send His angels before the
face of His servants, and He does so.

You are here, my brethren and sis-
ters, in a gathered capacity, in fulfill-
ment of prophecy. This is the day spok-
en of by Jeremiah:

"Therefore, behold the days come,
saith the Lord, that it shall no more be
said, The Lord liveth, that brought up
the children of Israel out of the land of

Egypt;

"But, The Lord liveth, that brought
up the children of Israel from the land
of the north, and from all the lands
whither he had driven them; and I will
bring them again into their land that
I gave unto their fathers.

"Behold, I will send for many fishers,
saith the Lord, and they shall fish
them; and after will I send for many
hunters, and they shall hunt them from
every mountain, and from every hill,
and out of the holes of the rocks."

Brethren and sisters, your sons are
fulfilling this prophecy today in the na-
tions of the earth. Speaking of Zion
that should be established in power
and glory in the last days, the prophet
says:

"The Gentiles shall come unto thee
from the ends of the earth, and shall
say, Surely our fathers have inherited
lies, vanity, and things wherein there
is no profit."

In conclusion, let me say to my young
brethren and sisters and to my friends
who are under the sound of my voice,

76

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

I know that God lives. I know that
Jesrus Christ is the Redeemer of the
world, and through His atoning blood
all mankind may be saved, by obedience
to the laws and ordinances of the Gos-
pel which He has revealed in these last
days through the Prophet Joseph
Smith. I know that Joseph Smith was
an inspired man, raised up of God to
usher in the dispensation of the fulness
of times; yea, that time which all the
holy prophets looked forward to. My
testimony is that through your faith
and diligence in keeping the command-
ments of God, every gift and blessing
that He has ever promised unto the
children of men is yours, whereby you
can be brought back into the presence
of our Father and crowned heirs of
glory, immorta-ity and eternal life. Be-
hold, this is the day of the Loid's prep-
aration We are preparing for the
coming of our Lord and Sa\ ior Jesus
Christ, and His coming is near at hand.
He will come in the clouds of heaven,
with power and great glory. I also
lestify unto you that the words of the
Prophet Malachi are true when he said,
"For, behold, th? day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the
proud, yea, and all that do wickedly,
shall be stubble; and the day that com-
eth shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it slvll leave them. neith-
er root nor branch." I say unto you
when that voice goes forth among the
children of men, "Lo, the bridegroom
cometh; go ye forth to meet him," it
will be a sorrowful day for the children
of men. It will be a day of weeping
and wailing among those who have
taken "the broad way." As Jesus him-
self has prophesied, they will cry for
the rocks to fall upon them, to hide
them from the wrath of Him who shall
come; for no man can stand in the
presence of God, except he be cleansed
every whit from sin.

May God bless you, my brethren and
sistecs, and fill you with His Holy ,
Spirit, that your greatest desire may
be to build up the kingdom of God up-
on the earth, that we all may keep our
garments clean and unspotted from
the world, and strive to set an example
worthy of imitation, that we may be
justified of the Lord and be prepared

for His coming; which is my prayer in
the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER W. C. LYMAN,
(President of San Juan Stake).

My beloved brethren and sisters, I
feel very humble in attempting to speak
to you a short time, and I trust that
the Spirit of the Lord may be with me,
that my remarks may be appropriate
to the occasion and applicable to those
who may listen.

I was sustained and set apart as the
president of the San Juan Stake a little
less than six months ago so that I am
perhaps not as well acquainted with
the conditions that exist there as I will
be in the future. However in connec-
tion with my counselors Brother Wil-
liam Halls of Mancos and Brother Redd
of Bluff I have visited the different
wards that compose the stake. I be-
lieve all the auxiliary organizations are
in good running order. The stake cov-
ers the southeast corner of the state of
Utah the northwest corner of the terri-
tory of New Mexico and the southwest
corner of the state of Colorado; and all
we lack to make us happy is a portion
of the territory of Arizona that we may
raise some of those large sweet pota-
toes that Brother Kimball has been
telling you of. We have some good
county in the San Juan Stake and we
have a good deal of the other kind. In-
asmuch as the brethren have counseled
the Saints not to move too much at the
present time it would perhaps not be
wise for me to tell you the advantages
of that portion of the Lord's vine-
yard. However, if any of you are dissat-
isfied with your present homes and
think you are not getting wealthy fast
enough come dcnvn and visit
us, examine our country, and you
will certainly return home and feel sat-
isfied to stay there. Some portions of
our stake have been settled under pe-
culiar conditions. One of the towns that
we have there, when the first settlers
•went into that locality they had to
take their wagons to pieces and let
them down over a perpendicular cliff
nearly 40 feet high. Some of them nev-
er came out again. I would like to men-

ELDER JOSEPH B. KEELBR.

77

tion briefly trie history of one of our
towns. For a period of years after it
was settled it seemed as if it would be
impossible to maintain the settlement.
I believe the people once or twice asked
the privilege of leaving there and going
to a more favored locality. The ser-
vants of the Lord told them that those
who desired to leave were at liberty to
do so and they could go with their
blessings but that those who remained
would be doubly blessed. Quite a num-
ber of the members of that ward hai
faith in the promise of the Lord, and
they remained there, and that
promise to them has been literally
fulfilled. I presume that today there is
not another ward in the Church, *with
the same number of people, that pos-
sesses the same amount of wealth aa
this ward does.

We are happy in that country. We are
trying to keep the commandments of
the Lord and to build up His Church :n
that part of the vineyard. I love the
cause in which we are engaged. I love
the Latter-day Saints, and I love the
men whom God has appointed to pre-
side over us. I bear testimony that I
do know that they have been called of
the Lord, and that they are inspired b>
His Spirit. I pray that the blessings of
the Lord may accompany each one of
us who have attended this conference
to our homes and remain with us
through life. May the Lord grant it.
Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH B. KEELER
(Of the Presidency of Utah Stake.)

It affords me much pleasure, my
brethren and sisters, to represent be-
fore you the Utah Stake of Zion. It
has only been about twenty months
since that stake was divided, and three
stakes made out of it; but I can assure
you that its spiritual welfare, and, I
hope, its temporal welfare, has been
enhanced by this movement. It seems
as though our quarterly conferences
and our general meetings are as well
attended now as they were before the
division. From the reports we hear
from the Alpine Stake and from the
Nebo Stake, it would seem that they
likewise are prospering. The people,

on the whole, are striving to keep the
commandments of the Lord. I believe
they are increasing in their tithes and
offerings. They rejoice in the educa-
tional advantages that they have. As
you know, one of the great Church
institutions is located in that stake —
the Brigham Young academy. Its regis-
tration last Friday evening in the high-
er departments was 710 students, and
140 in the preparatory * school. The
stake is composed of seventeen wards
and three branches, and all of the or-
ganizations are complete, I believe.

I have been much interested, as
doubtless you have, in the reports that
we have listened to today. It seems
as though, when we are hearing these
reports, we cannot refrain from ex-
claiming, Zion is growing! We are liv-
ing in the midst of the fulfillment of
prophecy, as was remarked by Apostle
Taylor. The faith and the testimonies
of the people are increasing. I do hope
that we will be able to follow the coun-
sel and advice that is given to us from
day to day by our brethren who are
placed over us. I think it is wonderful
counsel they are giving about remain-
ing in the places where the Saints have
settled, and have an inheritance there.
I know full well that there is a rest-
lessness among the people, even in our
part of the land, where they are not so
short of moisture as they are in other
places. But the counsel to the Lat-
ter-day Saints is, Remain where God
has planted your feet, unless you are
advised to go elsewhere. I believe
that the Lord will send the former and
the latter rains. He is not going to
drive His children from this chosen
land. We are in a position that we
may know in the spring of the year
whether there is a prospect for much
or little moisture and it seems to me
it would be the part of wisdom if we
should govern ourselves in our farming
interests by these conditions. There
are some crops that we need not plant
if we know there is going to be a short-
age of water. It would be better for
us if we would intensify that that we
already have; farm less in these dry
seasons, and cultivate it more thor-
oughly, and in all probability we would
get just as great returns.

78

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

I have also been gratified to hear the
counsel given regarding the betterment
of the quorums in the Lesser Priest-
hood. I acted for a number of years
in the Bishopric and I know the diffi-
culties the Bishops have to contend
with. I have been a short time in
the presidency of the Stake, and I com-
prehend also the difficulties that have
to be surmounted in that calling. I be-
lieve that we should get nearer to the
Lesser Priesthood. "We prepare, say
the Seventies, to go abroad to preach
the Gospel. Our Mutual Improvement
associations tend toward this; our Sun-
day schools in some respects tend to-
ward this. But we find very little
done for those who officiate in the
Lesser Priesthood. I have rejoiced to
see that a movement is now being un-
dertaken to make more effectual the re-
ligion classes. I hope the brethren will
pay some attention to this. The breth-
ren who hold the offices in the Lesser
Priesthood need to have personal at-
tention. They need to come in per-
sonal contact with the Teacher. The
trouble is 1 think, we talk to them at
too long a range. They ought to be
trained in their duties, the Deacon to be
trained in his office, the Teacher in his.
If the Teacher is a young boy, put him
in care of some experienced man, and
let him be taught the practical as well
as the theoretical part of his calling.
If our young men can be put through
this system of training and education,
the result will be, when they arrive at
manhood they will be capable of going
among the people and giving them good
advice in their homes. One would
think that the Seventy, coming from
his mission, would be just the man to
go among the Latter-day Saints in
their homes; but that work is alto-
gether different from the work he has
been doing in the world. The work of
proselyting is one thing, the work of
Teacher among the Saints is another
thing. Although they both belong to
the Gospel, they are not quite alike. I
feel to rejoice that the brethren have
been advised in these matters, and I
hope we will take these instructions
home to our Stakes and wards, and put
them into practice, that in the years to
come we may have a valiant band of
brethren of the Lesser Priesthood, or

those who will act in that Priesthood,
going among the people and teaching
them their duties. May God add His
blessings, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

ELDER MILTON H. WELLING
(President of Malad Stake.)

I rejoice exceedingly, my brethren
and sisters, in the privilege I have had
of attending this conference. .1 believe
it has been the most inspiring specta-
cle of my life. To hear the brethren
who are laboring in the various mis-
sion fields and in the Stakes of Zion
report the progress of the work of God
among the children of men is a testi-
mony to me that the Gospel which we
.have received is true. I believe if the
young Latter-day Saints will make a
careful study of the proceedings of this
conference they will be able to obtain
a testimony of the fulfillment of proph-
ecy in the spread and development of
this work. The Prophet Daniel saw the
time when a little stone should be cut
out of the mountain without hands,
which should roll forth and fill the
whole earth. Today we can see in a
measure that this word of God is being
fulfilled, from the reports given h_re
by the servants of the Lord who have
come from different parts of the earth.

I am honored this afternoon in hav-
ing the privilege of speaking to you
for a few moments regarding the con-
ditions that prevail among the people
of the Malad Stake of Zion. The Ma-
lad Stake was organized about fifteen
years ago, with President Oliver C.
Hoskins at its head. President H>s-
kins remained as the presiding officer
of that Stake until about seven month?
ago, when I had the honor of being^
called to preside among that people.
The Saints of the Malad Stake are
united. They are laboring earnestly
and devotedly, I think, for the upbuild-
ing of the kingdom of God among the
children of men. The Presidency of the
Stake have visited all the wards, of
which there are eleven, and two
branches, and we find that the people
are striving to the best of their ability
to serve the Lord and keep His com-

ELDER ANTHON H. LUND.

79

mandments. The Presidency of the
Stake are united, and in my youth and
inexperience I have been exceedingly
blessed in my ministry among the peo-
ple there by having two faithful, stal-
wart counselors — Brother Gibbs, who
has been associated with the Presiden-
cy of the Stake since its organization,
and Brother Ward, who has been pre-
siding for the last twenty-two years
among the Indians of Washakie. In
that connection I may say that we feel
proud of the fact that we have an In-
dian ward in our Stake, thoroughly or-
ganized, and with all the auxiliary or-
ganizations. These Indians are endeav-
oring to serve the Lord, and we feel
that they are a credit to our Stake.

My brethren and sisters, I desire to
testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ
is true, and that those who are placed
at the head of this Church are inspired
of the Lord to perform the work that
they have been called to do. I trust
that the Latter-day Saints may go
forth from this conference to the va-
rious Stakes of Zion and carry the in-
structions they have received to the
home of every member of the Church,
that this work may grow and prosper
in the earth. This is my prayer in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.

Importance of an education, secular and religious
— Missionaries should avoid debates— The God
we worship — Only the accepted standard works
of the Church authoritative .

This conference has been a very inter-
esting one to me. It has been instruc-
tive to hear the reports from the dif-
ferent stakes and missions, given by
those who are present; and as far as I
have learned the conditions, I know
that they have reported truly.

I have one or two things I would like
to speak upon, if the Spirit of the Lord
shall lead me upon those subjects.

Winter is coming, and during the
winter time our day schools are all in
session. We have an excellent school
system in the state, and we desire to
ask all parents to see to it that their
children attend school and receive all
the benefits they can from the schools
in our midst. We have been accused

of being an ignorant people, and that
the authorities of the Church believe
their strength lies in the ignorance of
the people; but this is not the case. We
do not want to foster ignorance. On
the contrary, we desire that all our chil-
dren shall enjoy the blessings of an ed-
ucation, as far as it lies in our power
to give it them. The Prophet Joseph
said that no man could be saved in ig-
norance. We look upon ignorance as a
hindrance to salvation. Hence we want
our people to be an enlightened people,
an educated people, a people trained in
all that leads to eternal life.

Besides our district schools, *we hav«»
schools instituted in our midst for the
teaching of the principles of the Gospel.
Last night we had a large congregation
here of Sunday school workers. We
would like our brethren and sisters
throughout the stakes of Zion and in
the different missions where Sunday
schools are established, to see the im-
portance of having all their children
attend them /and receive the instruc-
tions given there. We look upon the
Sunday school as a very important or-
ganization in our midst, and we are in-
deed pleased that so much interest has>
been taken in this matter. While
speaking about Sunday schools, I want
to mention the Juvenile Instructor, and
to ask the parents to support that jour-
nal and place it in the hands of the
children. Remember that it belongs to
the Sunday schools; and is not a pri-
vate enterprise. Hence we ask the
Sunday schools to be loyal in its sup-
port, so that we can spend more means
on improving it and making it what it
ought to be — a journal in very deed for
the instruction of our juveniles.

Religion classes have also been start-
ed in our midst; and now that
the day schools are opened, we want
these classes started, too, that the in-
struction given in the district schools
may be supplemented with religious in-
struction. It is not intended, however,
to mix the two. We cannot interfere
with the state schools. We do not de-
sire to take any rights from our friends,
living here; but we do claim the right
to see to it that our own children are
given the privilege of learning that
which we believe to be of the utmost

88

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

importance. Presidents of stakes ana
Bishops of wards, we depend upon you
to put forth a strong effort to the end
that in every ward a religion class bt
established, if there be not one already
We have quite a number of Church
schools, and we encourage our younj,
men and young women to attend them.
We are pleased to hear from all our
academies that they have opened with
better prospects than ever before. A
greater interest seems to be taken in
these institutions, and the First Presi-
dency and the Church board of edu-
cation, realizing the importance of this
work, have made a greater appropria-
tion in favor of it than ever before. We
feel that the expenditure of means foi
the education of our children in thesb
schools is profitable. We cannot fully
estimate the value of these institutions.
It may cost us a great deal, but if we
can saA-e if it were but one soul, how
great will be our joy, saith the Lord. I
believe these institutions will be the
means of saving thousands of souls.
In our academies missionary courses
have been established, which many of
our young men have been called to at-
tend, in order to study the principles of
the Gospel and get a systematic knowl-
edge of the plan of salvation, so that
when they go out into the world they
may know how to teach that which
they believe. These courses are doing
a great deal of good.

I started by saying that we want all
to attend the district schools. Now, we
have in this state an excellent univer-
sity. There has been some talk that
the First Presidency and other authori-
ties of the Church were inimical to that
institution, and did not want our people
to send their young men and young
•women there. We want it understood
that this is not the case. In the past
our legislatures have been composed
mostly of men belonging to this
Church, and they have made large ap-
propriations in favor of that institution,
to equip it and make it worthy the
name of a university. We feel that
our people should avail themselves of
the advantages of that institution
Many who go east for education could
go to that institution and receive just
as much, I believe, as they do at the

eastern institutions of learning. We
want it understood that we are not
against the university, but we favor
our people getting the advantages
which it offers. Religion cannot be
taught there, of course. There all sects
and denominations must meet on neu-
tral ground. But for the students be-
longing to the Latter-day Saints it is
possible that some means can be found
whereby they could be given religioua
instruction outside of the institution.
If any of them could make arrangement
to attend the theological course in the
Latter-day Saints' university, it is open
to them.

When we were down south we en-
couraged the people to also attend the
Normal school established at Cedar
City. We consider that these state
schools are well equipped and supplied
with able instructors, and that our
young people can derive much benefit
from them. In short, '.ve want to study
how we can make the most of the edu-
cational advantages in this state and
in the other states throughout Zion,
that ail our children may receive an
education.

In listening to the reports from the
presidents of missions, I was pleased
with one feature. Some of them said
that the missionaries avoided debates
and contention. I look upon this as
the right course. Some there are who
think we are afraid to meet anyone in
debate. Not so. It is much harder for
oup young brethren to keep from debat-
ing than it is to engage in it; for they
feel that they have the truth, and they
are not afraid to meet anyune in de-
fense of the principles in which they
believe. But we have only one object
in view in going out amongst the na-
tions, and that is to follow the Master's
instructions — to go out and teach men.
That is our work. We do not go out to
win battles as debaters; but we go out
to teach men that which we have re-
ceived, and which we know is true.
If men are not willing to receive it,
that is their own concern, not ours.
When our Elders show the world the
beauty of the principles of the Gospel
as revealed to us, it is for men to say
whether they will receive them or not.
The Elders do their duty, and leave the

ELDER ANTHON H. LUND.

81

result to the Lord. Those who seek to
debate with our Elders and thirst for
the honor of beating them in argu-
ment, do not want to be taught; they
simply want contention. Paul tells us
to avoid contention. He said: "But if
-any man seem to be contentious, we
have no such custom, neither the
churches of God." So we say; conten-
tion is not our custom, and we advise
our missionaries not to contend, but
simply go out and teach the principles
of the Gospel.

Some there are who follow our Elders,
and after they have preached the prin-
ciples of salvation, these men get up
and charge that the Elders do not be-
lieve in God, but that they believe in
Adam as their God, and they will bring
up a few passages from sermons de-
livered by this or that man in the
Church to substantiate this charge.
Now, we are not ashamed of the glor-
ious doctrine of eternal progression,
that man may attain the position of
those to whom came the word of God,
that is, gods. When Jesus was preach-
ing unto the Jews on one occasion they
stoned Him, and He wanted to know if
they stoned Him for the good works
He had been doing. Oh, no, they say,
"for a good work we stone thee not;
but for blasphemy; and because that
thou, being a man, makest thyself God."
To meet this, Jesus said:

"Is it not written in your law, I said,
Ye are gods?

"If he called them gods, unto whom
the word of God came, and the scrip-
tures cannot be broken;

"Say ye of him, whom the Father
hath sanctified, and sent into the
world, Thou blasphemest; because I
said, I am the Son of God?"

"We believe that there are gods, as
the Savior quoted. He repeated what
was written in the law, and He did
Tiot say it was wrong, but used it as
an argument against them. While,
however, we believe, as the scripture
states, that there are more gods, to us
there is but one God. We worship the
God that created the heavens and the
earth. We worship the same God that
came to our first parents in the Garden
of Eden. In the revelation contained
in Section 116 of the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants the Lord speaks con-

cerning Adam-ondi-Ahman, "the place
where Adam shall come to visit his
people, or the Ancient of days shall
sit, as spoken of by Daniel the prophet."
In the 107th section, the Lord speaks of
Adam as "Michael, the Prince, the
Archangel," and says that he shall be
a prince over the nations for ever. We
may with perfect propriety call him
prince, the ancient of days, or even
God in the meaning of the words of
Christ, which I have just quoted; but
we do not worship him, we worship the
same God that he worshipped. When
our missionaries are met with these
sophistries and with isolated extracts
from sermons, we say to them that any-
thing that is a tenet of our religion
must come through revelation and be
sustained by the Church, and they
need not do battle for anything outside
of the works that have been accepted
by the Church as a body. When men
come with extracts from sermons, let
them bring the whole sermon, so that
the context can be taken to see what
was the meaning of the preacher, and
not bring a few isolated passages whose
meaning can be twisted and distorted
to something opposite to what was in-
tended. Our brethren have a right to
ask for this. They can defend the
principles they teach by the revelations
of God as contained in the Bible, the
Book of Mormon, the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great
Price, the standard works of the
Church; outside of these they need not
go. Many of our Elders, when they
go out into the world, have never
heard of the things that are brought up
against us, because they are not doc-
trines believed or taught here. In re-
gard to the young man who lately com-
mitted a fearful deed, in New York,
and the charge that the teachings of
Mormonism had caused him to do it, I
am safe in saying that the young man
never heard at home in Zion a single
thing taught by the people here
in regard to the horrible doc-
trine attributed to us by the
world, called "Blood atonement,"
for nothing is taught either in private
or in public that would lead to such
a dreadful crime. It is only out in the
world where we are accused of holding
such views. I have alluded to the argu-

82

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

ments brought against us and the
works considered by us as standards
in order that our missionaries may not
feel at a loss what to do. They know
the works which have been accepted by
the Church; they can read the word of
God unto His people, both ancient and
modern, and let them plant themselves
firmly thereon. God bless you all.
Amen.

PRESIDENT JOHN R. WINDER.
Temple work — The Sacrament— Fast offerings.

While listening to the reports made by
the Presidents of Missions, I thought it
might not be out of place for me to say
a few words in relation to some mis-
sionary work done at home. I refer
now to the work that is done in the
house of the Lord. We have in the
Salt Lake Temple about fifty mission-
aries — brethren and sisters who have
been called to that labor— and they
work without compensation. Some of
them have been on that mission for
more than nine years. I have in mind
one sister who has been working in
the temple nine and a half years, and
I do not know that she has ever missed
a day during all that time, when the
temple has been open. She is not quice
as old as I am, but she is nearly 81
years of age. If you will pardon me,
I can say the same thing for myself:
daring the nine and a half years I have
never been absent from the temple one
day when it has been open.

1 will give you a few figures bearing
upon the work that is being done in
*he houses of the Lord. In the Salt
Lake Temple, during the past six
months, there have been 34,758 ordi-
nances performed, and during the past
year 73,060 ordinances. Since it was
opened in 1893 there have been 726,924
ordinances performed there. In all the
Temples now in existence there have
been 2,447,000 ordinances performed.

This is a brief sketch of the work
that is done by the missionaries who
are called to work in the houses of the
Lord.

Be it remembered, brethren and sis-
ters, that this Temple work was one
of the most important subjects that

the mind of the Prophet Joseph Smithy
in his last days, was very much exercis-
ed over. And it is an individual work.
It is the duty of all who have relatives
and friends on the other side of the
veil to see that this work is done for
them. These temples have been erected
at great expense; millions of dollars
have been expended on them; they are
kept open at a heavy expense; and we
ought to avail ourselves of the oppor-
tunity to obtain blessings in them.
There is room in them for all who de-
sire to perform ordinance work. 1
hope, therefore, you will take this into
consideration, and remember the word*
of the Prophet Joseph, that it is the
duty of every person who has received
ordinances for themselves to seek after
their dead relatives.

There is one more subject that I wish
l o say a few words upon: it is in rela-
tion to the administration of the Lord s
supper. When visiting wards and
stakes I have thought there is not that
solemnity surrounding this ordinance
ihat ought to be. It is a matter that
J he presiding officers should look after.
Call the attention of your people, when
tJ-e sacrament is being prepared, to the
sacredness of the obligations they are
about to enter into. I remember the
fiist time I ever visited a Latter-day
Paint meeting after I obeyed the Gos-
pel, that when the sacrament was pre-
pared the presiding officer arose and
spoke to those present in relation to
tt-e obligations they were about to en-
into, and time was given for any
who had been overtaken in a fault to
make confession before partaking of
Ihe sacrament of the Lord's supper. I
believe we are too careless in relation
to this ordinance. When the bread and
the water are passed around, we ar*
too apt to partake of it in a mechanical
"kind of a way, without thinking scarce-
ly of what we are doing. Consequent 1 } ,
I call the attention of the presiding
officers to this subject.

One more subject I want to touch
upon. Tour attention has been called
to the fast offerings, and it has beeu
en id that some stakes and wards had
no poor, consequently they did not
deem It necessary to fast. Don't you
know, brethren and sisters, that a

THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES.

S3

blessing comes from fasting? It is
not; so much the dollars and cents aa
it is the blessing that we are afte i \
and unless we observe this we cannot
expect the blessing. I could give you
some statistics on this question that
probably would astonish you, but I wtll
say this: Last year $36,000 had to b^
drawn from the general tithing office
to provide for the poor. Now, if the
Latter-day Saints would observe this
rule as they ought to, every Bishop
would have abundance with which to
supply all the poor in Zion.

My brethren and sisters, during the
three days we have been here, while
hearing the brethren I have felt sev-
eral times like shouting Hosanna, Ho-
sanna, to God and the Lamb! In tn<?
r.ame of Jesus Amen.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

"I hold in my hand a copy of the re-
vised edition of the Pearl of Great
Price. The" Pearl of Great Price, as it
originally existed, was presented before
the general conference and accepted as
one of the standard works of the Church.
Since then the book has undergone a
revision; that is to say, all the revela-
tions that it formerly contained which
were also in the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, have been eliminated from
it, as we thought it unnecessary to
have revelations published in this book
which were already published in the
Doctrine and Covenants; therefore,
these revelations have been eliminated
from the Pearl of Great Price as it now
is, and you will find them In the Doc-
trine and Covenants. In addition to
tbis, Professor James E. Talmage has
gone through the work and divided it
into chapters and verses, making it a
far more convenient book of reference
than it was before. He has also sup-
plied copious footnotes or references,
which will be an aid in the study of the
book.

These are the changes that have been
made .in the book, and we now present
this book in its revised form — the orig-
inal matter being preserved as it was
before, only divided into chapters and
verses — for your acceptance as a stand-
ard work of the Church."

It was moved and seconded that the
book be accepted as a standard work
of the Church, and the motion was car-
ried unanimously.

President Smith then presented the
authorities of the Church, first remark-
ing that "we desire that the brethren
and sisters will all feel the responsibil-
ity of expressing their feelings in rela-
tion to the propositions that may be
put before you. We do not want any
man or woman who is a member of the
Church to violate their conscience. Of
course, we are not asking apostates or
non-members of the Church to vote on
the authorities of the Church. We only
ask for members of the Church in good
standing to vote on the propositions
that shall be put before you, and we
would like all to vote as they feel,
whether for or against."

THE GENERAL AUTHORITIES

of the Church were presented by Pres-
ident Joseph F. Smith, to be voted up-
on by the conference, as follows:

Joseph F. Smith, as Prophet, Seer
and Revelator and President of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

John R. Winder, as first counselor in
the First Presidency.

Anthon H. Lund, as second counselor
in the First Presidency.

Brigham Young, as President of the
Twelve Apostles.

As members of the Council of Twelve
Apostles: Brigham Young, Francis M.
Lyman, John Henry Smith, George
Teasdale.Heber J. Grant, John W. Tay-
lor, Marriner W. Merrill, Matthias F.
Cowley, Abraham O. Woodruff, Rudger
Clawson, Reed Smoot and Hyrum M.
Smith.

John Smith, as Presiding Patriarch
of the Church.

The counselors in the First Presi-
dency, the Twelve Apostles and the
Presiding Patriarch as Prophets, Seers
and Revelators.

First Seven Presidents of Seventies:
Seymour B. Young, Christian D. Fjeld-
sted, Brigham Henry Roberts, George
Reynolds, Jonathan G. Kimball, Rulon
S. Wells and Joseph W. McMurrih.

William B. Preston, *s Presiding

84

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

Bishop, with Robert T. Burton and Or-
rin P. Miller as his first and second
counselors.

Joseph F. Smith as Trustee-in-TVust
for the body of religious worshipers
known as the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.

Anthon H. Lund as Church historian
and general Church recorder.

Andrew Jenson, O. F. Whitney, A. M.
Musser and B. H. Roberts, assistant
historians.

As members of the General Church
Board of Education; Joseph F. Smith,
Willard Young, Anthon H. Lund.James
Sharp, John Nicholson, George H.
Brimhall, Rudger Clawson, Joseph M.
Tanner and John R. "Winder.

As General Superintendent of Church
Schools — Joseph M. Tanner.

Secretary of Church Board of Educa-
tion — Arthur Winter.

As members of the Board of Examin-
ers — Joseph M. Tanner, Benjamin Cluff,
Jr., George H. Brimhall, Joshua H.
Paul and James H. Linford.

OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE
GENERAL BOARD OF THE RE-
LIEF SOCIETY OF THE CHURCH
OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-
DAY SAINTS.

Bathsheba W. Smith, general presi-
dent; Annie Taylor Hyde, first coun-
selor: Ida Smoot Dusenberry, second
counselor; Emmeline B. Wells, general
secretary; Clarissa S. Williams, general
treasurer.

OFFICERS OF THE DESERET SUN-
DAY SCHOOL UNION.

Joseph F. Smith, general superintend-
ent; George Reynolds, first assistant
general superintendent; J. M. Tanner,
second assistant general superintend-
ent.

Members qf the Board— Joseph F.
Smith, George Reynolds, Joseph M.
Tanner, Thomas C. Griggs, Joseph W.
Summerhays, Levi W. Richards, Fran-
cis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Geo ge
Teasdale, Hugh J. Cannon, Andrew
Kimball, John W. Taylor, L. John Nut-
tall, James W. Ure, John F. Bennett,
John M. Mills, William D. Owen, Sey-

mour B. Young, George D. Pyper, Hen-
ry Peterson, Anthon H. Lund, John R.
Winder, James E. Talmage, George M.
Cannon, Horace Cummings, George D.
Pyper, general secretary; George Rey-
nolds, treasurer.

GENERAL OFFICERS OF THE
YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IM-
PROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS.

Joseph F. Smith.general superintend-
ent; Heber J. Grant and B. H. Roberts,
assistants; Thomas Hull, secretary and
treasurer; Evan Stephens, music di-
rector; Horace S. Ensign, assistant mu-
sic director.

Aids — Francis M. Lyman, John Hen-
ry Smith, Matthias F. Cowley.Abraham
O. Woodruff, J. Golden Kimball, Junius
F. Wells, Milton H. Hardy, Rodney C.
Badger, George H. Brimhall, Edward
H. Anderson, Douglas M. Todd, Thom-
as Hull, Nephi L. Morris, Willard Done,
Le Roi C. Snow, Frank Y. Taylor,
Rudger Clawson, Rulon S. Wells, Jos.
W. McMurrin, Reed Smoot, Bryant S.
Hinckley, Moses W. Taylor, B. F.
Grant, Henry S. Tanner, Hyrum M.
Smith, Wm. B. Dougall.

OFFICERS OF THE YOUNG LADIES
MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSO-
CIATIONS.

Elmina S. Taylor, president; Maria
Y. Dougall, first counselor; Martha H.
Tingey, second counselor; Ann M. Can-
non, secretary and treasurer; Mae Tay-
lor Nystrom, corresponding secretary;
Joan Campbell, recording secretary.

Aids— Adella W. Eardley, Sarah Ed-
dington, Agnes Campbell, Lillie T.
Freeze, Susa Young Gates, Minnie J.
Snow, May Booth Talmage, Emma
Goddard, Rose W. Bennett, Alice K.
Smith, Elizabeth C. McCune, Ruth M.
Fox, Julia M. Brixen, Helen W. Wood-
ruff, Augusta W. Grant, Mary A.
Freeze.

OFFICERS OF THE PRIMARY AS-
SOCIATIONS.

Louie B. Felt, president; Lillie T.
Freeze, first counselor; Josephine R.
West, second counselor; May Anderson,

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

5

secretary and treasurer; Olive L. Der-
bidge, assistant secretary; Euphemia I.
Burnham, recording secretary.

Aids— Aurelia S. Rogers, L. Lula
Greene Richards, Isabella S. Ross, Ca-
milla C. Cobb, Edna L. Smith, Eliza
Slade Bennion.

GENERAL BOARD OF RELIGION
CLASSES.

Anthon H. Lund, general superin-
tendent; Rudger Clawson, assistant
general superintendent; Joseph M.
Tanner, assistant general superintend-
ent.

Members of Board— L. John Nuttall,
John M. Mills, Henry Peterson, Horace
Cummings, Joseph W. Summerhays,
Matthias F. Cowley, Hyrum M. Smith,
Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin,
L. John Nuttall, general secretary.

Leader and director of the Tabernacle
choir— Evan Stephens, with Horace S.
Ensign as his assistant; John J. Mc-
Clellan as organist, and all the mem-
bers of the choir.

John Nicholson as clerk of the con-
ference.

The voting to sustain was afflima-
tively unanimous.

PRESIDENT SMITH

read the following and in suitable re-
marks gave it his hearty approval:

Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 6, 1902.—
An organization has recently been ef-
fected under the direction of the gener-
al board of the Relief Society of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, in which Sister Emma A. Em-
pey was sustained as general supervis-
or of the Relief Society nurses, with
Sister Phebe Y. Beatie as secretary and
treasurer, and Sister Margaret C. Rob-
erts as instructor.

It is desired that the Relief Society
of every stake of Zion shall send as
many young women as possible to study
nursing, and that the presidents of
stakes shall interest themselves with
the Relief Societies and young ladies
that the good work that has been start-
ed here may be carried on, and that
the sick and needy throughout all the
settlements may have proper attention.

The class will start Monday, Nov. 3.
For further information see Relief So-
ciety pamphlet, or write to Sister Phebe
Y. Beatie at 55 North West Temple
street, Salt Lake City. Emma A. Em-
pey, general superintendent.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

Honor the Priesthood in their respective callings —
Sustain the Church publications— President
Snow's great and good work — Commendation
of the auxiliary organziations— Closing ad-
monitions.

Six months ago we announced to the
people in conference assembled that we
expected to carry the Gospel and our
testimony to the Saints as far as we
had power to do it. I desire to say to
this conference that we have fulfilled
that promise to the best of our ability.
Myself and at least one of my coun-
selors, together with a number of the
Apostles, have visited many of the set-
tlements between here and Canada,
holding conference in Canada and
meetings in several of the wards there;
and we have been as far south as St.
George. We have attended the con-
ferences of the people as far as our
time would permit, and there has not
been a Sabbath day that we have been
idle. We have visited the Saints, borne
testimony and declared the truth to
them as diligently and faithfully as we
had strength and time to do. What re-
mains to be done, we hope, by the bless-
ings of the Lord and continued health
and strength, to be able in the future
to accomplish it. Between now and
next April we will perhaps be able to
visit a number of the Stakes of Zlon,
and Wards, too, which we have been
unable to reach up to the present. We
cannot afford to be idle.

At this conference we have heard
from nine Apostles-all that were in
attendance. I regret exceedingly to say
that President Brigham Young is con-
fined to his room with serious illness;
and while we hope and pray that the
Lord may be merciful unto him and
prolong his life, we feel, from ^ the
knowledge we have of his condition
and sufferings, that we will have to
leave him in the hands of the Lord. If
he had been present at this conference,

86

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

we would have had all the brethren of
the Twelve with us, excepting Brothers
Lyman and Grant, who are in foreign
lands laboring in the missionary field.
Besides the Twelve, we have heard
from almost forty presiding officers in
the Church; and I only regret that we
do not have the time to continue this
work until we could hear from all the
Presidents of Stakes, at least. But,
brethren, do not be discouraged; if you
will come next Conference we will give
you a chance then.

Furthermore, I want to say to the
Saints who have listened to the breth-
ren who have spoken unto us, that
they are only an average of the Pres-
idents of Stakes. We have not select-
ed the brightest, the wisest and the
best to speak to us. "We have taken
those from the outer settlements, as far
as we could, because we desired to
have them heard here. We desire to
recognize them, and we would like their
people at home to realize the fact that
they are recognized in the general con-
ferences of the Church. I believe it to
be the duty of the Church to recog-
nize and acknowledge every man that
holds an official position in it, in his
sphere and in his calling. I hold to the
doctrine that the duty of a Teacher :s
as sacred as the duty of an Apostle, in
the sphere in which he is called to act,
and that every member of the Church
is as much in duty bound to honor the
Teacher that visits him in his home as
he is to honor the office and counsel of
the presiding quorum of the Church.
They all have the Priesthood, they are
all acting in their callings, and they are
all essential in their place, because the,
Lord has appointed them and set them
in His Church. We cannot ignore
them; or, if we do, the sin will be up-
on our heads.

We have had some excellent instruc-
tions from President Lund and Presi-
dent Winder of the First Presidency, in
relation to the work in the Temple, to
discussions and contentions, in the mis-
sionary field, to the education of our
children, to the maintenance of schools,
to religion class work, and other mat-
ters. I endorse their remarks. Presi-
oj papuauiuiooaj osre SBq pun^ }uap

us the Juvenile Instructor, of which
the brethren have given me the honor
of being the chief editor. I am not the
only editor of this periodical. Brother
George Reynolds is one of the editors;
indeed he is the worker, the bee in that
hive. He is always busy wherever
you find him. So far as industry
is concerned, I do not know a man in
Israel that performs a greater multi-
tude of duties and labors than George
Reynolds does. He is always at work,
and always has plenty to do. I desire
to remind you too, that the brethren
have done me the honor also of elect-
ing me to be the editor of the Improve-
ment Era, the organ ot the Young
Men's Mutual Improvement associa-
tion, Elder E. H. Anderson being ac-
tively in charge. As the Juvenile In-
structor belongs to the Sunday schools,
and not to any individual or syndicate
of individuals, in like manner the Era
is the organ of the young men of
Zion. No man has any interest or profit
in it more than another; nobody is
making money out of it, and nobody
is getting any salary out of it, except
one or two who have to be constantly
employed in the office. We send the
magazine to the missionaries abroad,
and receive commendations from the
Elders with respect to the good that ig
being accomplished by doing this. We
recommend the Improvement Era, as
we do the Juvenile Instructor, to the
youth of Zion, and we say that you can-
not do better than subscribe for it, and
have it in your libraries, and still bet-
ter, read it. Nor do we wish to overlook
the Young Woman's Journal, nor the
Children's Friend.

Brethren and sisters, we want you to
be united. We hope and pray that you
will go from this conference to your
homes feeling in your hearts and from
the depths of your soul to forgive one
another, and never from this time forth
to bear malice towards another fellow
creature, I do not care whether he is a
member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints or not, whether he
is a friend or a foe, whether he is good
or bad. It is extremely hurtful for any
man holding the Priesthood and enjoy-
the gift of the Holy Ghost to harbor a
spirit of envy, or malice, of retaliation,

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

87

or intolerance toward or against his
fellow man. We ought to say in our
hearts, let God judge between me and
thee, but as for me I will forgive. I
want to say to you that Latter-da*
Saints who harbor a feeling of unfor-
giveness in their souls are more guilty
-and more censurable than the one who
has sinned against them. Go home and
dismiss envy and hatred from your
hearts; dismiss the feeling of unforgive-
ness; and cultivate, in your souls that
spirit of Christ which cried out upon
the cross, "Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do." This is
the spirit that Latter-day Saints ought
to possess all the day long. The man
who has that spirit in his heart and
keeps it there will never have any trou-
ble with his neighbor; he will never
have any difficulties to bring before the
Bishop, nor High Council; but he will
always be at peace with himself, at
peace with his neighbors, and at peace
with God. It is a good thing to be at
peace with God.

One year ago today, as near as I can
recall, we were honored by the presence,
and with the privilege to hear the voice
of President Snow. Shortly after he
was called home to his final account be-
fore the great Judge of the quick and
the dead. The Lord preserved his life
to a goodly age, and I want to say that
the Lord Almighty accomplished some
things through President Lorenzo Snow
that neither President John Taylor nor
President Wilford Woodruff accom-
plished in their day. Although the
same questions had been brought be-
fore them, yet they were never thor-
oughly decided and settled until Presi-
dent Snow did it. Therefore, I say, all
honor and praise be unto that instru-
ment in the hands of God of establish.
Ing order in the midst of uncertainty,
and certain rules by which. we know oui
bearings. I wish to mention this, be-
cause I feel in my heart to thank the
Lord for President Snow, and to honor
iiim as the instrument in His hands
of accomplishing his mission, for which
the Lord preserved him so long in life.
He lived to bear his testimony to the
world that Joseph Smith the Prophet
taught him the doctrine of celestial
marriage. He lived to declare to the

world that he knew positively that Jo-
seph Smith did receive it by revelation
ajnd that that doctrine was true and of
God. And if he had done no more than
this he would have accomplished a
great work, because he was a living
witness, an eye-witness and an ear-
nvitness, and he knew whereof he
spoke. You and I will have to meet his
testimony, and so will the people of
the world; and when we go to give an
account of that which we have heard
and known in the world, we can not
dodge this, but will be held to an ac-
count for it, just as sure as the Lord
lives and President Snow did his duty.

I want to say a few words to the
Mutual Improvement associations. You
young men and young women, officers
of the Mutual Improvement associa-
tions, I implore you to go from thia
conference and do your duty. Look af-
ter the wayward, the disobedient, the
thoughtless, and the indifferent. It is
necessary that they should be guarded
and looked after. As it has been ex-
pressed here time and again, it is bet-
ter for us to save our own boys who are
being misled at home, than It is for us
to go out into the world and spend
years of time and endless means in
order to gather in a few people from
the world, while some of our own boys
and girls need redemption as much as
they, besides these people of the world
are so full of the traditions and super-
stitions of their fathers when they
gather to Zion that it is difficult, if not
impossible, for them to entirely over-
come these traditions and get down to
a full comprehension of the Gospel and
a complete reception of the truth. Yet
a soul saved out in the world is as
precious in the sight of God as a soul
saved at home. But we have work to
do right at home, at our own doors;
and it will not do for us to neglect the
work necessary to be done at our own
thresholds, and then go out into the
world to do work that is no more neces-
sary. Let us do our duty everywhere.

I desire to speak a word of commen-
dation of the Primary associations. The
sisters who are engaged in this noble
work are most worthy women and very
energetic in their labors. They are ac-
complishing a wonderful work. It is

88

GENERAL, CONFERENCE.

soul-inspiring, delightful and encourag-
ing to see the results of the labors of
these sisters. I commend this work to
the attention of presiding officers every-
where, and would ask that the Bishops
encourage and foster not only the Sun-
day schools and the Improvement asso-
ciations, but also the Primary associa-
tions; for theirs is a work necessary to
be done among the little children,
which cannot be done, it would appear,
in any other way.

Furthermore, I desire to commend the
work of the Relief Society, an organ-
ization that was effected by the Prophet
Joseph Smith. The objects of this or-
ganization are manifold. It is not de-
signed to look only after the poor and
the needy as to their bodily necessities,
but it is also intended to look after the
spiritual, mental and moral welfare cf
the mothers and daughters in Zion, and
all who are engaged or interested in fe-
male work. I commend the Relief So-
cieties to the Bishops, and say, be
fnendly to these organizations, be-
cause they are auxiliary organizations
and a great help to the Bishops.

I regret very much indeed that we
*ave not had time to hear from the
Seven Presidents of Seventies, but nei-
ther they nor you need to feel very bad
about it, because we expect to send them
out to visit you. If you have not nad
the prilvilege of hearing them here, we
will let you hear them at your homes.
It is their business to preach the Gos-
pel, and another time they may have a
chance to preach it to you here. I
would love to have heard them and — I
was going to say — hundreds of others,
whom we would like to have heard, if
time would permit.

I now say to the brethren of the
Priesthood — the High Priests, the Sev-
enties, the Elders, and the Lesser
Priesthood— magnify your callings;
study the scriptures; read the 107th
section of the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants, on Priesthood; learn that

revelation, which was given through
the Prophet Joseph Smith, and live by
its precepts and doctrine, and you will
gain power and intelligence to straight-
en out many kinks that have hereto-
fore existed in your minds, and to clear
up many doubts and uncertainties in
relation to the rights of the Priesthood.
God gave that word to us. It is in
force today in the Church and in the
world, and it contains instruction to
the Priesthood and the people in rela-
tion to their duties, which every Elder
should know.

I will say now to all of the Latter-
day Saints, Let us live our religion; let
us pay our tithing and be blessed; iet
us remember the poor and the needy,
and sustain and help them; let us visit
the sick and afflicted, and admlnster
consolation unto them; let us help the
weak; let us- do all in our power to
build up Zion, to establish righteous-
ness in the earth, and to plant in the
hearts of the people the glorious truth
that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer
of the world, that Joseph Smith is a
prophet of the living God, whom the
Lord raised up in these last days to
restore the everlasting Gospel and the
power of the Holy Priesthood to the
world.

That the Lord may help us to accom-
plish this work, and sustain us in every
good word and work, is my humble
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

The choir sang,
We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.

The benediction was pronounced by
Elder Charles W. Penrose, counselor in
the Presidency of the Salt Lake Stake.

Conference adjourned for six months.

The stenographic work, in taking a full
account of the speeches, was done by-
Elder Arthur Winter.

JOHN NICHOLSON,

Clerk of Conference.

SEMI-ANNUAL SUNDAY SCHOOL CONFERENCE.

Preliminary Meeting of Superintendents.

The superintendents and assistants
of the Sunday schools of the various
stakes of Zion met with the Deseret
Sunday School Union board, at room
No. 25 of the Lion House, Salt Lake
City, at 6 o'clock on the evening of
Sunday, October 5, 1902, for the consid-
eration of special business. The call
was made by the general superintend-
ency. Thirty-five stakes were repre-
sented.

The brethren sang, "Redeemer of
Israel," and prayer was offered by El-
der James H. Linford.

Elder George D. Pyper brought up
the subject of the Juvenile Instructor
and stated that a subscription v of 8,300
was secured last year and this had in-
creased to 8,800 during the present sea-
son with the prospect of reaching what
the board desired by the end of the
year — nine thousand subscribers. It was
claimed, however, that the list should
be increased to at least 10,000 during
1903, and Elder Pyper asked the sup-
port of the officers in behalf of the
magazine and urged upon them the
necessity of reading it themselves in
order to keep up with the Sunday school
work.

Elder George M. Cannon offered the
following resolution:

"Resolved, that as stake superintend-
ents of Sunday schools we make an
earnest effort to increase the number
of subscribers to the Juvenile Instruct-
or in our respective stakes at least ten
per cent."

After some remarks the resolution
was adopted.

Elder Joseph "W. Summerhays said
that the board was simply the agent of
the schools in publishing the Juvenile
Instructor, but it was plain to all that
the Sunday school organization needed

an organ and the Instructor was a.
necessity; all the board asked was that
the stake and ward officers and work-
ers should bear their part of the burden.

Elder Summerhays also stated that
the board would like a Sunday School
Union organized in every stake of Zion;
that it was recommended that a Sunday
school conference be held in each ward
once a year; that stake Sunday school
officers should go into the by-ways and
corners and mining towns and organize
Sunday schools wherever possible. No-
town, village, settlement or camp
should be without its Sunday school.

Elder Horace Cummings related his
experience in organizing a Sunday
School Union in Juarez Stake, Mexico.
All schools were represented except one
composed of two families, living one
hundred and fifty miles away. There
were two hundred and ninety-nine pre-
sent, and it took a month for some
of the workers to come to the meetings
and return to their homes. This, he
thought, a complete answer to those
who object to the organization of a
union because of the scattered condition
of the people of their stakes, as very
few stakes are as scattered as Juarez,
and yet they made a great success of it,,
and he believed great good would fol-
low.

Elder Joseph M. Tanner then an-
nounced the near completion of the
Sunday school plans, and stated that,
subject to the printer's ability to do the
work, the committee hoped to have the
plans in the hands of the teachers by
December 1st.

General Treasurer George Reynolds
submitted a proposition to offer premi-
ums of ten volumes of the Juvenile In-
structor to the stake remitting the
nickel donation to the general treasurer

90

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

by December 1, 1902, and five volumes
to the stake remitting by January 1,

1903.

On motion of Elder David O. McKay
the offer was amended so as to require
a payment of a full one hundred per
cent of the nickel fund based on last
year's report of enrollment, and on mo-
tion the time of payment was changed
to December 15th and January 15th, in-
stead of December 1st and January 1st.

Elder Thomas C. Griggs stated that
with the exception of one stake and
part of another all the jubilee histories
had been sent to the various stakes in
accordance with the resolution adopted
by the stake officers, and there was still
some $1,100 due. It was thought suf-
ficient time had now been given and
that these accounts should be squared
up.

The meeting then adjourned with the
benediction by Elder Seymour B.
Young.

GENERAL MEETING.

The General Semi-Annual Conference
of the Sunday schools of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was
held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
Utah, Sunday evening, October 5, 1902,
at 7:30 o'clock, General Superintendent
Joseph F. Smith presiding. There were
present, of the General Superintend-
ency, Joseph F. Smith, George Rey-
nolds, and Joseph M. Tanner; most of
the members of the Sunday School
Union board, several Apostles, officers
and representatives from forty-three
stakes, the absentees being Bingnam,
Maricopa, St. Johns, Sevier, Snowflake,
Star Valley, and Union. Three mis-
sions were also represented, viz: Cali-
fornia, Colorado and the Northern
States.

This congregation of Sunday school
officers and teachers and those interest-
ed in the work formed probably the
largest Sunday School Union meeting
ever held in the Church.

The conference was opened by the
Tabernacle choir, led by Professor Evan
Stephens, singing the anthem, "Let the
Mountains Shout for Joy." Prayer was
offered by Elder Reuben G. Miller of
Emery Stake.

The choir then sang, "From afar,
Gracious Lord."

General Secretary George D. Pyper
then called the roll, which was respond-
ed to by forty-three stakes and three
missions, as before stated. The secre-
tary also presented the general Sunday
school authorities, who were sustained
as follows:

Joseph F. Smith, General Superin-
tendent.

George Reynolds, First Assistant Gen-
eral Superintendent.

Joseph M. Tanner, Second Assistant
General Superintendent.

Members of the Board: Joseph F.
Smith, George Reynolds, Joseph M.
Tanner, Thomas C. Griggs, Jos. W.
Summerhays, Levi W. Richards, Fran-
cis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, George
Teasdale, Hugh J. Cannon, Andrew
Kimball, John W. Taylor, L. John Nut-
tall, James W. Ure, John F. Bennett,
John M. Mills, William D. Owen, Sey-
mour B. Young, George D. Pyper, Hen-
ry Peterson, Anthon H. Lund, John R.
Winder, James E. Talmage, George M.
Cannon, Horace Cummings.

George D. Pyper, General Secretary.

George Reynolds, Treasurer.

Thomas C. Griggs, Business Manager.

SECOND ASSISTANT SUPERIN-
TENDENT JOSEPH M.
TANNER.

I am pleased to see so many present
who are evidently interested In the
great Sunday school cause; and I ask
an interest in your faith and prayers
that I may have the Spirit of God in
the remarks which I may make.

The Sunday school work is something
that comes home to us all and especial-
ly is it important to the home; and all
those who look forward to the establish-
ment of home, its elevation, its inspira-
tion, must of necessity be particular
friends of the Sunday school. It la
that great organization of the Church
used for the training of our children in
spirit and mind, and therefore the
methods adopted for its work are im-
portant, and the amount of the work is
a matter in which the Deseret Sunday
School Union board is greatly interest-
ed.

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL. UNION.

91

There have heen remarkable changes
In the Sunday schools in some of the
stakes of Zion within the last few years.
These changes are so great In some in-
stances that it is hardly possible to real-
ize the improvements made. The in-
tense interest and enthusiasm that have
been awakened have almost revolution-
ized some stakes. It has been a matter
of great importance to the Union board
to learn what has been the cause of
these changes and why some stakes
have advanced so much more rapidly
than others, though no doubt all the
stakes of Zion are ambitious to be in
the first rank. One important cause is
found in the fact that the teachers and
students are now preparing tnemselves
in their lessons before going into the
Sunday schools. The teachers have
union meetings, and once a month as-
semble and give instructions. It is now
required of the teachers that they be
prepared in advance before going
into the school room, and this prep-
aration of the teacher leads to
preparation on the part of the pu-
Til- The Deseret Sunday School Union
board have noticed that these changes
have been due to program and out-
lines prepared in advance; and in con-
sequence it was proposed that uni-
form outlines be prepared for all the
stakes of Zion, so that every Sunday in
the year there is a lesson for the teach-
ers to give. The plans will be uniform

In the past some classes have spent
j ears reading the Scriptures without
any aim, and little children have been
required to take up subjects not suited
to them; subjects away beyond their
years. "We have endeavored to get up
p.'ans embodying the experience of the
union board, stake boards, and teachers
of ability, and by the first of Decem-
ber we hope to have the work in the
hands of all the Sunday schools of the
Church, that the teachers may begin
their work on the first Sunday in Jan-
uary, 1903. Teachers, I desire to call
your attention to the importance of
preparation on your part. Some of the
subjects cannot possibly be taught by
the teachers not prepared before going
to their classes.

It is desired that teachers should be
more familiar with the Scripture. Read
it in your homes. This will lead the

pupils to study, and if the children real
at home what an encouragement it will
be to the parents! It will all result in
families gathering around the fireside,
reading the Scriptures and preparing
i:ssons for the next Sunday. Home
reading is a beautiful habit and a taste
for it should be encouraged by exam-
ple; it is not enough to admonish chil-
dren to read.

I have been asked when children
should be taught the reading habit, and
in answer I would say: Before they are
old enough to read. If parents them-
selves will adopt the practice of reading
aloud the children will be encouraged
to read as soon as they are able to do
eo. There is no more beautiful habit
than for a father or mother to read to
their children in the evening. It will
correct pernicious inclinations. This
new plan should create a new love for,
and interest in the Bible, Book of Mor-
mon, Doctrine and Covenants and
Church works. The first volume of
the History of the Church is just is-
sued, and it should be in the home of
every Latter-day Saint, as it is pub-
lished at so low a price that it is with-
in the reach of all.

We are especially anxious to encour •
age self-effort on the part of the young
that they may realize the value of these
good books, and that it will be dis-
creditable to them not to understand
the Scriptures and their own history.
What a lovely thing it is to see a model
home! It is a credit and an honor to
any man to have a good family, and
we respect those God-fearing men who
are examples in the homes for uphold-
ing its purity, its enlightenment and its
stability. We better help our country
when we perform our duties in the
home and in the Sunday school.

God bless our leader, a man among
men, fitted in every way to stand at
the head of this great work; and may
all who labor for the advancement of
the Sunday school interests find their
reward a thousand fold; I ask in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.

My dear brothers and sisters: I re-
joice in seeing the interest the Latter-
day Saints take in the Sunday school

92

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

work. This is the largest organization
in the Church, and I believe in every
ward, and in every branch of the
Church where there are children we
have a Sunday school. There is a grow-
ing desire to make these schools inter-
esting to the children. I am pleased
with the steps taken to have the work
laid out beforehand and the lessons
planned so that the teachers and chil-
dren may be prepared for their Sunday
mornings' work. It is a great work:
That of teaching the children the plan
of salvation and the moral law. Our
Sunday schools are used for this pur-
pose. We believe there is hardly an
organization in the Church that has
such far-reaching consequences as the
Sunday school. The work done there is
not only for the present, but it will
leave its imprint in the years to come.

Sunday school teachers should be ex-
emplary men who teach not only by
precept but by example. If you want
children to do right show them the
way. The teacher who indulges in
things forbidden in the Word of Wis-
dom will not accomplish much in teach-
ing the children. The little ones soon
find out the teacher's way and manner
of living and the effort to instruct will
be in vain. If you want to have in-
fluence with the children show them
that you are in earnest and believe
what you teach and mean it, and thus
load them in the paths of virtue and
right.

The Sunday school is not only for the
education of the head but we must
reach the heart; we must make the
children love that which is right; mah-
them love virtue for virtue's sake;
make them have an abiding faith in
God their Creator, and a knowledge
of the infinite love shown to all man-
kind by the Redeemer; to partake of
that love which must show itself in
good works.

Teachers, this is a noble work in
which you are engaged. Go to your
secret chamber and there pray that th<-
Spirit of God may be with you; that
you may secure the love and confidence
of the little ones placed in your care.
And that you may succeed in this great
work I ask in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

GENERAL, SUPERINTENDENT
JOSEPH F. SMITH.

My beloved brethren and sisters: I
do not intend to say very much on
this occasion. There are many breth-
ren present who have subjects upon
their minds and I desire to give them
aij much time as possible. But I feel
like saying something in relation to
our children. It does not need argu-
ment to convince our minds that our
children will be just about what we
make them. They are born without
knowledge or understanding — the most
helpless creatures of the animal crea-
tion born intq^the world. The little one
begins to learn after it is born, and
all that it knows greatly depends upon
its environment, the influences under
which it is brought up, the kindness
with which it Is treated, the noble ex-
amples shown it, the hallowed influ-
ences of father and mother, or other-
wise, over its infant mind. And it will
be largely what its environment and
its parents and teachers make it.

The child of the lowest of our na-
tive tribes born in a wigwam and the
child born in luxury start out almost
equal so far as the possibilities of
learning are concerned. A great deal
depends upon the influences under
which it is brought up. You will ob-
serve that the most potent influence
over the mind of a child to persuade it
to learn, to progress, or to accomplish
anything is the influence of love. More
can be accomplished for good by un-
feigned love, in bringing up a child,
than by any other influence that can be
brought to bear upon it. A child that
cannot be conquered by the lash, or
subdued by violence, may be controlled
in an instant by unfeigned affection
and sympathy. I know this is true;
and this principle obtains in every
condition of life.

The Sunday school teacher should
govern the children, not by passion, by
bitter words or scolding, but by affec-
tion and by winning their confidence. If
a teacher gets the confidence of a child
it is not impossible to accomplish every
desired good with that child.

I would have it understood that I be-
lieve that the greatest law and com-
mandment of God is to love the Lord
our God with all our mind, might and

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

1)3

strength, and our neighbors as our-
selves; and if this principle is observed
at home the brothers and sisters will
love each other, they will be kind and
helpful to one another, showing forth
the principle of kindness and being
solicitous for each other's good. Under
these circumstances the home comes
nearer being a heaven on earth, and
children brought up under these influ-
ences will never forget them, and
though they may be in trying places
their memories will revert to the homes
where they enjoyed such hallowed in-
fluences, and their better natures will
assert themselves no matter what the
trials or temptations may be.

Brethren and sisters of the Sunday
school, I emplore you to teach and con-
trol by the spirit of love and forbear-
ance until you can conquer. If children
are defiant and difficult to control, be
patient with them until you can con-
quer by love and you will have gained
their souls, and you can then mould
their characters as you please.

Sometimes children do not like their
teachers, and the teachers are impa-
tient with the children and complain
of them as being very uncouth, uncon-
trollable and bad. The children in their
turn tell their parents honv they despise
their teacher and say they don't want
to go to school any more because the
teacher is so cross. I have heard of
these things and know them to be true.
On the other hand, if children say to
father or mother, "We think we have
the best teacher in the world in our
Sunday School," or "We have the best
teacher in our district school that ever
lived," it proves that those teachers
have won the affections of the children,
and the little ones are as clay in the
hands of the potter to be moulded in any
shape desired. This is the position you
teachers should occupy, and if you get
their affections this will be the report
the children will make regarding you.
God bless you. Amen.

"Scatter Seeds of Kindness" was
beautifully sung by a ladies' quartette
from the Eleventh ward, Salt Lakt
City. The quartette was composed of
Sisters Maggie Bassett, Etta Felt, Olive
Cushing and Anna "Vine.

JOSEPH W. SUMMERHAYS.

I trust, my brethren and sisters, that
during the few moments I may address
you I may have the Spirit of the Lord
to dictate my remarks.

Previous to coming to this meeting
the Deseret Sunday School Union Board
met with the stake superintendents;
and one of the subjects spoken upon
at that meeting I desire to speak of
here. I have reference to cottage Sun-
day Schools and to looking after wards
which have no Sunday Schools estab-
lished.

Some years ago in a near-by stake
there was a certain mining camp with-
out any Sunday School organization. A
brother was called upon a mission to
visit the locality, search out the Latter-
day Saints and effect an organization.
He did so, and by the blessing of the
Lord his efforts were crowned with
success. A Sunday School was organ-
ized, and it has grown and increased
from that day to the present and has
done some glorious work. On one fast
day, early in the spring, some sixteen
baptisms took place, and most of the
subjects were children taught in that
Sunday School, but whose parents were
not of our faith. This is but one in-
stance of several which have occurred
in Utah.

Now, brethren, you who have been
called to be watchmen upon the tow-
ers of Zion, when you go home look
into the nooks and corners of your
stakes and see if there are not many
children who need the bread of life. We
do not desire to interfere with the
duties of the bishops, but it is our
duty to do all that we can toward get-
ting every child in Zion to attend Sun-
day School.

Our average attendance is altogether
too low. Some Sunday Schools report
an average attendance of as low as fif-
ty and fifty-five per cent. I speak ad-
visedly when I say that there are some
places within the organized stakes of
Zion where there have been no meet-
ings of any kind held for two years.
These are places, too, in near-by local-
ities, and there are many children there
who are anxious to be baptized. What
is needed is some attention to the mat-

94

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

ter by the brethren whose duty it is to
look after the sheep of Christ's fold. It
is my mission and yours to work while
it is yet day. Think of it for one mo-
ment! Consider the numbers of our
youth throughout the Church who
should be in the Sunday Schools, and
who are not. We plod along from one
week to another and allow these souls
to decay. "We are willing to preach the
Gospel to the nations of the earth, and
this is right. It should be so. We all
understand the God-given feeling we
experience when we take the candidate
into the waters of baptism.' But I want
to say that it is just as important to
save souls in Zion as in the ten thous-
ands of cities in foreign climes. Re-
member the cottage Sunday Schools,
establish them wherever needed, and
seek to care for the lambs God has
given to your care. Remember the sug-
gestions given by the Savior to Peter,
"Feed my lambs."

That we may have power to work
righteously for the Sunday School cause
as we should do, I ask in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

ELDER HENRY PETERSON.

My brethren and sisters: While I
stand before you I trust I may be guid-
ed by the same Spirit as were those w^o
have spoken before me. President
Smith in his remarks spoke of o le great
qualification that every teacher should
possess, namely, the spirit of love for
the pupils. A teacher who has that one
great qualification will probably acquire
all others necessary to the successful
doing of his work. Love inspires him
with a desire to benefit those placed
under his watchcare. He studies their
needs and prepares himself to supply
his class with the necessary spiritual
food.

A teacher filled with love for his
students learns to love the Gospel as the
means by which he can lead them into
the right kind of spiritual life and draw
them nearer to the Master. He enjoys
searching the Scriptures and leads oth-
ers into that same enjoyment. He car-
ries a life into the class that is felt by

all present and leads them to regularity
of attendance.

A teacher who loves his pupils will
seek unto the Lord for assistance that
he may be helpful to them. He will thus
acquire the Spirit of the Lord, whose
mission it is to bring to remembrance
things past and to show things to come;
and which gives the power of discern-
ment that he may see the needs of
others and be instrumental in supplying
them.

If the hearts of all who are called to
teach were filled with love, it would
not be necessary for others to plan for
them. That feeling would prompt them
to make the necessary outside prepara-
tion, and the Spirit of God would use
them as instruments and guide them
into natural and wholesome methods of
work. Instead of cramming the minds
of pupils mechanically with disconnect-
ed religious and historical facts, they
would give them the daily bread of
spiritual life.

As the qualification mentioned does
not universally inspire teachers and
spur all on to the right kind of effort,
the plans of which have been spoken
have been prepared. Their chief value
will be that they aid the teacher to
make the proper outside preparation.
A commendable feature of the plans
being prepared is that they do not do
the work for the teacher. The lessons
are not prepared for the teacher, nor
can he prepare them from the plans;
but if he is willing to put forth effort
the plans will guide him in making the
right kind of preparation directly from
the Scriptures.

The plans will help him to make this
preparation easily and to find the most
inspiring parts of the scripture.

.It is to be hoped that the plans will
be properly received and used, and that
they will help teachers to get inspira-
tion from the scriptures and a love for
their work and for the children whom
they teach. May God grant the aid of
His Spirit and fill the teachers will love
for their pupils, that they may be suc-
cessful in winning souls to Christ.
Amen.

"The Pilgrim's Song of Hope" was
then rendered upon tbje great organ by
Prof. John J. McClellan.

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

95

ELDER HORACE CUMMINGS.

To say that I am surprised to be
called upon to address this congrega-
tion would be a mild representation of
my feelings; but I trust with the Spirit
of the Lord I may be able to say some-
thing of interest to you and to me in
connection with the subject of children.

One phase of the remarks of Presi -
ident Smith struck me with force. He
stated that the characters of our chil-
dren are about as we make them.

Eut we do not apply this fact as we
should do. If we wish to become me-
chanics we find it necessary to be ap-
prenticed to learn the trade. If we are
to practice medicine, we must study
the human body and how it responds to
treatment. But we get married and be-
gin to rear families without giving any.
or but little, consideration to the nature
of the children we bring into the world.
We often rebuke them in the most
bungling and hurtful manner. The
time has come when more attention
must be given to the training of the
young.

A little incident which occurred in
my neighborhood recently will show
how thoughtless we sometimes are in
correcting our children. A good mother
who had been toiling hard all day found
herself somewhat behind in her work
of getting supper in the evening. She
was tired, nervous, and worried lest it
should not be ready by the time her
husband returned from work. Her little
daughter, six years of age, was helping
her by tending the baby as best she
could, but the baby was fretful and
would cry in spite of the best atten-
tions the little sister could give. "May-
be baby is hungry," said the little girl,
"I'll get him some milk." So saying,
she laid him in the crib and hurried in-
to the pantry and got him a glass of
milk. In her hurry and anxiety— for the
baby was crying — she stubbed her toe
and fell, spilling the milk on the car-
pet. The mother, without inquiring in-
to the motives of the child, flew into a
passion, rushed up and gave the little
girl a smart blow on the head and
called her a naughty girl for making
such a grease spot on the carpet. The
little girl, who had been doing her besc

to help her mother, shrank into a cor-
ner broken-hearted at the treatment
she had received.

What a grave mistake this mother
made! How little consideration she
gave to the motives of the child, or the
real effects of the punishment! Could
that child continue long to love and re-
respect that mother under such unwise
treatment? Punishment may be neces-
sary at times, but we should be care-
ful and know that we are right in giv-
ing it.

The same error often occurs in giv-
ing instructions. Sometimes we are
clear upon a certain point ourselves,
but cannot get out thoughts down to
the capacity or condition, of the chil-
dren. For instance, on a recent trip I
visited a certain class of pupils who
were from six to eight years of age. The
teacher was trying to explain the pas-
sage from Isaiah which speaks of sev-
en women taking hold of one man.
What would little children know about
such a subject? The subject as well
as its treatment should be suited to the
child. Other lessons from the Bible
might have been given with profit, in-
deed, the greatest good may be derived
by the use of the beautiful, simple stor-
ies which the Scriptures contain.
Through them impressions may be
made upon the young mind that will
never be forgotten, and ever exert a
good influence over their lives. But
they must be chosen and presented
wisely.

Our children are the greatest bless-
ing God can give us, and we should be-
stow more attention and study upon
child nature. Inquire into their mo-
tives, and give our best thought to their
training.

The plans prepared are good ones for
live teachers, but they are not good for
lazy ones. Some people think it a sin to
prepare a lesson beforehand. I re-
member a story told by Brother Mae-
ser. This beloved teacher once visited
a theological class, the teacher of which
went — as Brother Maeser expressed it —
from "Dan to Beersheba" and "from
Genesis to Revelation" in his address
to the class, without making clear any
point or principle. Brother Maeser, at
the proper time and place, asked him

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL, UNION.

what preparations he had made for
that recitation. The teacher in evident
surprise answered, "I never make any.
I don't propose to lariat the Spirit of
God." "My dear brother," responded
Brother Maeser, "let me assure you
there was not a particle of the Spirit
of God in all your teaching this morn-
ing."

Read one of the lessons on the sub-
ject in the Doctrine and Covenants. The
Prophet Joseph and Oliver Cowdery
were both blessed with the gift to
translate. Oliver lost it and the revela-
tion tells us why. He thought all
he had to do was to ask God
and he would get the translation
without further effort. Because he
did not exercise his own mind, to
think it out, his gift was taken away.
So with the teacher. The plan is given
you from the Union Board. Take each
lesson, think it out, ask God's blessing
upon it, and give it your best effort;
■your gift will grow; you will succeed.

ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE.
It is a great thing to be one of an
organization of this kind, and be identi-
fied with a cause represented by such
numbers. I thought while looking over
this immense congregation that we
might search the world in vain for a
similar gatherings on Sunday School or
auxiliary matters. And this occasion is
not a unique one amongst us; for twice
every year thousands gather here in the
interest of the Sunday School cause.

You will learn doubtless from what
has been said by the brethren that
much improvement is evident in the
Sunday School work. I rejoice in this
improvement but still think there is
room for greater advancement. You
will also gather from what has been
said that we cannot get to a condition
when we are beyond doing better. If I
thought I could get to a heaven where
there was no advancement possible, I
don't believe I should want to go there.

When we feel that we have done the
best possible we should. give God the
glory and say "That and better will
do." One characteristic of true perfec-
tion is the capacity for improvement
and progress. Development is a char-
acteristic of everything that lives.

Reference has been made to teachers
who do not teach in the way to make
the most lasting impression. Now,
something depends upon the dress of
the teacher; and a failure is often
traced to the fact that a teacher is not
dressed right. Much of the impression
we make on those with whom we come
in contact depends upon our dress and
address. I do not refer to the manner-
isms of society, nor to the cut of the
coat, the style of the gown or to the
flowers and feathers on the hat, but to
the clothing of the spirit. The teach-
ers should wear the garment of their
calling in Sunday School or they will
never make the impression necessary.

When the garment of Elijah fell up-
on his successor it was manifested that
the spirit of his calling was transmit-
ted. Without this spirit we cannot ac-
complish anything. So, my brethren
and sisters, strive for it, work for it
and the spirit of your calling will en-
gender the spirit of industry — God fear-
ing industry, which will bring with it
efficiency in the work to which you
have been appointed.

My heart bounded with joy in listen-
ing to the voice of authority calling up-
on the teachers to prepare by study and
earnest effort for their work and not
expect the Lord to do it all for us. That
injunction would at one time have been
considered heresy, at least by a few.
The Spirit of the Lord comes to him
who seeks for it. I find I can prepare
a lesson at home in as prayerful a spir-
it and with as much of the influence of
the Lord, as if I stood here and at-
tempted to talk to you on the subject.

When we pray for all we undertake
then will we have the Divine influence
always with us. This is the way to
fulfill the admonition, "Pray ye without
ceasing."

Some teachers are veritable proph-
ets, bringing out things suitable for ev-
ery occasion. The spirit of a calling en-
ables one to overcome every obstacle.

When I am called by authority to
perform a certain mission if I have the
spirit of my calling I feel that I am
better able to do it than is any other
man, because it is my calling, my
authorized labor; and I can go forth,
confidently, knowing that the Lord nev-

DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.

it-

er calls a man to perform any work
without opening the way for him to do
it.

The following' question, handed in,
has been given me to answer:

"What should be done with a mem-
ber of the superintendency or a teacher
in a Sunday School who does not ob-
serve the Word of Wisdom?"

It is not my function to give a law
on this matter, but I will say this: That
a teacher who professes to be directed
by the Spirit of the Lord, and who vio-
lates the spirit of the Word of Wisdom,
will not have that spirit in strength to
enable him to realize what is intended.
Such a teacher should be labored with
and an effort made to bring him to the
proper standard. I don't believe there
are very many teachers who are not
observing the Word of Wisdom. We
are all trying to secure the same glory
and we cannot continue to do an evil or
the Spirit of God will cease to strive
with Js, and that man who persists in
breaking the law of God is bereft of his
power as truly as was Sampson when
his locks were shorn from his head.

We must live by the law of God.
Look around you and you can tell the
men and women who are what they
pretend to be; not those with lips ever
guarded lest they show what is within,
but those who show purity by every
act. I testify from experience that
when I obey the laws of righteousness
the Lord comes to my help. And a
teacher who is thus governed and who
prepares a lecture or address upon the
Scriptures puts forth the very spirit
of the Scriptures.

In teaching put away the disposition
to present personal theories. We have
no authority to interfere with individ-
ual opinions; but neither you nor I
have any right to teach a principle or
doctrine as a tenet of the Church un-
less it has been sanctioned by the
Church or the authorities. We are not
to let fads lead us away. I was de-
lighted with a couple of articles on fads
and hobbies recently printed in the Ju-
venile Instructor over the signature of
General Superintendent Joseph F.
Smith. I could read in it the spirit of
revelation.

The Spirit of God will not tell you
that a thing is true and tell someone

else that it is false. If I speak tonight
and you do not find an echo of the truth
of it in your hearts it is because I am
not truthful or you don't know the
truth when you hear it.

Reference has been made to the home.
I recently paid a visit to one of the
stakes of Zion and I asked the superin-
tendent, a very earnest man and the
very man for the place, what was the
greatest difficulty he had to contend
with. He answered that he had the
most trouble on account of a lack of
interest among parents. A teacher will
be faithful Sunday after Sunday and
then of a sudden she is absent from
school, off to the lake or some other
place of recreation or amusement. The
mother says to the daughter: "You
have been very punctual for a long
time and there is no harm in taking a
day off for a rest." Sundays are not
given to us for that purpose, and that
mother was not doing her duty. The
Sunday School work is not so arduous
that we have to take a day off to rest
up.

I rejoice in the good work of our
teachers: I rejoice that the harvest is
coming in forty and fifty fold. I hope
it may soon be one hundred, yes two
hundred fold, and on without limit or
stop. God bless you. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH M. TANNER.

I desire to call your attention to the
fact that the outline plans will be pub-
lished in pamphlet form; not all of the
departments in one, because the teach-
ers in the primary department may not
want to use the theological plans and
vice versa. The parts will be published
for a very few cents. The plans are
merely sketches and model lessons will
be published from time to time in the
Juvenile Instructor. The Juvenile In-
structor, by the way, is the organ of
the great Sunday School organization,
and President Smith has taken a great
interest in it and uses it as one of the
channels to communicate his thoughts
to the Saints throughout the Church.

The congregation sang the "Doxol-
ogy" and the conference adjourned
with the benediction of Assistant Su-
perintendent George Reynolds.

GEO. D. PYPER, Secretary.

C/5

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